Tinubu said the loan facility will help in poverty reduction as a monthly transfer of N8000 will be made to 12 million most vulnerable (poor) Nigerian households for a period of six months under the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme.
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President Bola Tinubu has requested the Senate to approve additional loan facilities of USD800 million to be secured from World Bank for the National Social Safety Net Programme.
According to the President, the loan will enable the transfer of the sum of eight thousand naira (N8,000) monthly to twelve (12) million poor and low-income households for a period of six months with a multiplier effect on about sixty (60) million individuals.
The request was contained in a letter sent to the Senate and read by the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio, during the plenary on Thursday.
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According to the letter, the purpose of the facility is to expand coverage of shock-responsive safety net supports for all vulnerable Nigerians and the cost of meeting basic needs under the Conditional Cash Transfer window of the programme.
He explained that to ensure accountability and credibility, digital payments would be delivered directly to beneficiaries’ accounts and mobile wallets to encourage economic activity in the unorganized sector and enhance the nutrition, health, and educational outcomes for benefiting households.
The letter read in part, “It is with pleasure that I refer the above matter to you. Please note that the Federal Executive Council led by President Muhammadu Buhari GCFR had approved an additional loan facility to the tune of USD800 million to be secured from the World Bank to finance the social safety net programme, copy of the Federal Executive Council extract is attached here.”
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In the same vein, President Tinubu has requested approval for N500 billion from the Senate to enable the Federal Government offer palliatives to lessen the effects of the elimination of the petrol subsidy on Nigerians.
“The sum of N500 billion only has been extracted from the 2022 supplementary act of N819,536,937,815 for the provision of palliatives to cushion the effects of petrol subsidy removal.”
Recall that in December 2022, the National Assembly had passed a Supplementary Budget of N819 billion for the 2022 fiscal year, extending the implementation of the 2022 budget till March 31, 2023.
In May 2023, the National Assembly passed the amendment to the 2022 Supplementary Budget to extend the implementation of the capital components to December 2023.
