Tinubu takes $6.45b World Bank loan, much of it for consumption, not production
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Bola Tinubu has borrowed $6.45 billion from the World Bank for Nigerians to pay in just 16 months of being President, a good chunk of the money wasted on “consumption” such as luxury vehicles, a presidential yacht, foreign travels by Remi his wife, and bribes for lawmakers and traditional rulers.
Illegal allocation of funds by Tinubu
N21 billion – to theOffice of Chief of Staff to the President, which is not recognised by the Constitution (2023 supplementary budget).
N5 billion – to the Office of the First Lady not recognised by the Constitution (2023 supplementary budget).
In the three months to September 2024, Remi travelled to five foreign countries at a cost to the treasury of over N700 million, per reporting by Saturday PUNCH.
Besides, Remi was spotted at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York last month along with some Governors’ wives, which was allegedly a cover for shopping touring. Most of her foreign trips are not announced to the public.
N12.9 billion – to traditional rulers who are not elected, not accountable to the people, and not recognised by the Constitution (2023 supplementary budget and 2024 budget). A bribe for them to help Tinubu grab reelection in 2027.
Wasteful allocations by Tinubu
N110 billion – allocation to lawmakers to acquire SUVs and to cover allowances to mitigate the impact of fuel subsidy removal in 2023, a bribe for them to rubber stamp Tinubu’s requests.
Afenifere also noted in July “Tinubu administration’s profligate predilection or inclination to waste resources, viz.
“(a) $100 million or N240 billion as purchase price for an Airbus A330 as jet for the President and a further $50 million to retrofit it.
“(b) N950 million each as purchase price of a new set of armoured Cadillac Escalade Limousine SUVs as befitting vehicles for the President.
“(c) N21 billion for renovating a new mansion for the Vice President.
“(d) N90 billion as subsidy for religious pilgrimage.
“(e) N10 billion to renovate the Presidential Lodge at Ribadu Road, Lagos, etc.”
Lack of support for productive sector
On the other hand, the real sector is not supported such that manufacturers groan daily under unstable power supply, non-availability of foreign exchange, over-taxation, corruption, and other variables that combine to hamper production of goods and services and trigger factory closures and relocation to other countries.
Government borrowing rose to $6.45 billion following the recent approval of three new loans worth $1.57 billion from the World Bank for various projects, with borrowing expected to rise further in the coming months.
The World Bank in the past five years has approved up to 36 loan requests from Nigeria amounting to $24.088 billion, according to tabulation by The PUNCH. The period includes the Muhammadu Buhari years of the locust.
The loans – assuming the monies are not diverted into the pockets of government officials as usual – are intended to fund projects across the country, but raise concerns about escalating national debt as well as questions about the sustainability of such financial commitments and their long-term impact on the economy.
The projects and the loans under Tinubu include
- Power – $750 million
- Women empowerment – $500 million-
- Girls’ education – $700 million
- Renewable energy – $750 million
- Economic stabilisation reform – $1.5 billion
- Resource mobilisation reform – $750 million
Long years of infrastructure decay and increased unemployment arouse bitterness in Nigerians when they hear about government borrowing as past loans are not justified by tangible results and improved standard of living.
The website of the World Bank shows it has approved Nigeria’s loan requests every year since 2020 as follows:
2020 – $6.36 billion for 15 projects. They include
- Nigeria Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing ($510 million), Nigeria Digital Identification for Development ($430 million), and Nigeria SATAN additional financing for COVID-19 response ($750 million).
2021 – $3.2 billion for six projects
2022 – $1.26 billion for six projects. They include
- Livestock productivity and resilience support ($500 million), Nigeria: State Action on Business Enabling Reforms Programme ($750 million), and the umbrella organisation to support Nigeria for women’s projects ($3.9 million).
2023 – $2.7 billion for four projects. They include
- Nigeria power sector recovery performance-based operation ($750 million), Nigeria for Women Program Scale-up ($500 million), and Nigeria Distributed Access through Renewable Energy scale-up ($750 million).
2024 – $3.82 billion for five projects, which include a grant of $70 million, meaning
the loan so far in 2024 is $3.75 billion, but more loans are expected before the year runs out.
A statement issued by the World Bank on 13 June 2024 announced the approval of two loans to boost Nigeria’s economic stability and support its vulnerable population.
The combined package worth $2.25 billion comprises Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation Development Policy Financing Programme ($1.5 billion) and Nigeria Accelerating Resource Mobilization Reforms Program-for-Results ($750 million).
The World Bank is expected to approve another loan request by Nigeria worth $500 million by 16 December 2024 for the Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project – Scale Up project, according to a statement the bank issued last week.
The statement explained that “The World Bank has today approved three operations for a total of $1.57bn to support the Government of Nigeria in strengthening human capital through better health for women, children and adolescents and building resilience to the effects of climate change such as floods and droughts through improving dam safety and irrigation.”
Allocation of new fund includes solving governance issues that constrain the delivery of education and health ($500 million), Primary Healthcare Provision Strengthening Programme ($570 million), and Sustainable Power and Irrigation for Nigeria Project ($500 million).
Debt Management Office (DMO) data shows that Nigeria owes the World Bank a total $15.59 billion as of 31 March 2024.
Debt servicing cost Nigeria N6.04 trillion in half year 2024 (H1 2024), a 68.8 per cent rise on N3.58 trillion in H1 2023, gleaned from figures compiled by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
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Related articles:
BREAKING: Tinubu off to UK on annual leave
N701m spent on Remi Tinubu’s foreign trips in three months — Report
Tinubu’s former supporter Ayodele berates him for squandering funds, “killing the economy”
Afenifere laments Nigerians are worse off under Tinubu’s squandermania
Tinubu’s aide describes him as “corrupt … a man covered with deceit” in old tweet dug up by netizens
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