Political Economist

Top Menu

  • Home
  • About us
  • Contact us

Main Menu

  • Local News
  • World News
  • Business & Economy
  • Sports
  • Commentaries
  • Home
  • About us
  • Contact us

logo



Political Economist

  • Local News
  • World News
  • Business & Economy
  • Sports
  • Commentaries
  • Power transmission hits peak of 5,615.40MW; no improvement in supply – consumers

  • Oil industry losing investments to non-passage of PIB – Okowa

  • Osinbajo commends UBA, First Bank, Sterling, Fidelity Bank for leading off-grid financing in Nigeria

  • New Dawn as Sarki Auwalu Stirs Transparency at DPR

  • NAF Plane Crash: Safety Of Nigerian Airspace Remains A Priority – Buhari Mourns Victims

Local News
Home›Local News›$114.28m credit: SERAP urges World Bank encourage Nigerian govt. transparency, accountability in spending

$114.28m credit: SERAP urges World Bank encourage Nigerian govt. transparency, accountability in spending

By Admin
August 9, 2020
400
0
SERAP
Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP) has sent an open letter to the World Bank President Mr David Malpass, urging him to use his “good office to encourage the Federal Government and 36 state governments to publicly commit to transparency and accountability in the spending of the $114.28m credit and grant for COVID-19, which the Bank’s Board of Directors recently approved for Nigeria, including by publishing details on a dedicated website.”

SERAP also urged Mr Malpass to “put pressure on authorities and the 36 state governors to accept voluntary scrutiny by Nigerians and civil society regarding the spending of the funds and use of the resources, including on how they will spend the money to buy medical equipment, and improve access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene.”

The World Bank Board of Directors last Friday approved a $114.28 financing “to help Nigeria prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 with a specific focus on state level responses.” According to the Bank, the $100 million credit with Project ID number: P173980, is due to be paid back over 30 years, with additional 5 years grace period.

In the letter dated 8 August, 2020 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “The World Bank has a responsibility to ensure that federal authorities and state governments are transparent and accountable to Nigerians in how they spend the approved credit and grant. The Bank should tread carefully in the disbursement of funds or distribution of resources to states if it is to reduce vulnerability to corruption and mismanagement.”

SERAP expressed “serious concerns that the money and resources may be stolen, diverted or mismanaged by state governors without effective transparency and accountability mechanisms, especially given increasing reports of allegations of corruption and mismanagement of COVID-19 funds by agencies of the Federal Government and state governments, and impunity of perpetrators.”

SERAP said: “Insisting on transparency and accountability would ensure repayment of the credit, and protect the project objectives and intended purposes for which the funds and resources are approved, disbursed and distributed.”

According to SERAP, “The Bank’s power to provide credits and grants is coupled with a fiduciary responsibility to ensure that governments spending such funds meet international standards of transparency and accountability, including those entrenched in the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party.”

The letter copied to Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, read in part: “Implementing these recommendations would prevent a repeat of alleged diversion and mismanagement of recovered Abacha loot disbursed by the Federal Government to state governments.”

“The World Bank should make clear to all the governors that it will cancel the credit and grant should they renege on their transparency and accountability commitments to spend the money and use the resources exclusively for COVID-19 related projects, and not to steal, divert or mismanage them.”

“As the level of Federal Government monitoring of the spending of the credit and grant and use of the resources by state governors may be based on political considerations, the Bank’s influence might be the only restraining force state governors will take seriously.”

“SERAP encourages you and the World Bank in any future engagements with state governments in Nigeria to insist on accessing the information on how governors are spending security votes, and the amounts of public funds states are allocating to pay former governors life pensions, among others, as well as consider the level of corruption within each state before approving any credits and grants.”

“SERAP also encourages you and the World Bank not to sacrifice international standards of transparency and accountability in the rush to provide COVID-19 credit and grant to the 36 state governments.”

“According to our information, the World Bank Board of Directors on Friday, 7 August, 2020 approved a $114.28 financing “to help Nigeria prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 with a specific focus on state-level responses.”

“This includes $100 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) and $14.28 million grant from the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility.”

world bank“SERAP notes that the Government of Nigeria is expected to disburse the money and distribute the resources to the 36 state governments and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as ‘immediate support to break the chain of COVID-19 local transmission and limit the spread of coronavirus through containment and mitigation strategies”

“The approved money will also “help to finance federal procurement of medical equipment, laboratory tests, and medicines to be distributed to the states based on their needs, and to provide support to laboratories for early detection and confirmation; equipping and renovating isolation and treatment centers including community support centers; and improving in patient transfer systems through the financing of ambulances and training.”

SERAP, therefore, urged Mr. Malpass and the World Bank to:

Disclose and widely publish the terms and conditions of the credit and grant, and the exact amount repayable by Nigeria in 30 years’ time, including the details of the interest, if any; and the consequences of Nigeria defaulting;

Ask President Muhammadu Buhari to instruct the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to jointly track and monitor spending of the credit and grant by state governments;

Ask state governments to allow the media to freely report on their spending of the funds and use of the resources, and not to clamp down on journalists and the media in the exercise of their constitutional responsibilities to expose corruption and hold governments to account;

Ask state governments to explicitly commit to encouraging and protecting whistle-blowers as a way of ensuring that the funds and resources are not stolen, diverted or mismanaged.

TagsAbacha lootDavid MalpassICPCKolawole OluwadareSERAPShubham ChaudhuriWorld Bank
Previous Article

Twitter expresses interest in buying TikTok’s U.S. ...

Next Article

Presidency’s defence, endorsement of Ize-Iyamu confirms that ...

Related articles More from author

  • Business & Economy

    FG to produce a more comprehensive debt database – Minister

    October 18, 2019
    By Admin
  • Maina
    Local News

    COVID-19 Donations: Court grants leave to SERAP, HEDARC to sue CBN for non-disclosure

    December 1, 2020
    By Admin
  • Local News

    World Bank approves $486m loan to improve Nigeria’s electricity transmission

    February 16, 2018
    By Admin
  • Special Reports

    World Bank pledges to support Kaduna youth with digital skills

    July 12, 2018
    By Admin
  • Press Releases

    I WILL SCRAP EFCC, ICPC AND REFORM POLICE – OSITELU, ACCORD PARTY CANDIDATE

    November 25, 2018
    By Admin
  • Local News

    PCNI Trains Journalists on Conflict, Humanitarian Reporting in Borno

    November 18, 2018
    By Admin

You may be interested

  • World News

    IMF warns of rising African debt in spite of faster economic growth

  • Local News

    Buhari, still sick, extends leave, writes National Assembly

  • Local News

    RUGA is here to stay, insists Ganduje, says it will settle Fulani herdsmen

Fidelity Advert
  • LATEST REVIEWS

  • TOP REVIEWS

  • NDIC Pays N1.45bn to Over 16,000 Depositors of 34 Closed DMBs in 2017– Report

    0
  • Gboko killings: Police DPO under interrogation, others arrested —CP

  • NSE market indices drop by 1.64% after Christmas holidays

    0

    Timeline

    • March 2, 2021

      UNICEF to provide psychosocial support to released Jangebe schoolgirls

    • March 2, 2021

      Boko Haram ‘Directly Targeted’ Aid Facilities In Borno – UN

    • March 2, 2021

      e-Commerce: Call to rescue SMEs’ data genocide; role of Konga, others

    • March 2, 2021

      Rising Insecurity: Buhari Declares Zamfara State ‘No-Fly Zone’, Bans Mining Activities

    • March 2, 2021

      Content, key to success of DSO – Lai Mohammed

    Latest Comments

    • Justopec
      on
      April 24, 2017
      Good one for the NPF.

      Police foil another suicide bomb attempt in Borno, kill three bombers

    • Justice Shedrack
      on
      April 24, 2017
      Nice

      Police foil another suicide bomb attempt in Borno, kill three bombers

    • Anonymouse
      on
      February 8, 2017
      This is nice...

      Qatar Airways makes history, completes first longest non-stop flight of 16 hours from Doha to New ...

    • Justice Shedrack
      on
      January 19, 2017
      Na wa ooooo

      Confusion in Gambia, Jammeh stays put, Barrow to be sworn in at Gambia embassy in Senegal

    • Taje
      on
      November 10, 2016
      It's true. Debrecen looks like africa and not europe. Too much "blackness"

      Exclusive: Nigeria Has Highest Number of International Students in Hungarian University, Says Ambassador Yunusa

    logo

    Political Economist is a liberal news magazine with global affiliations.

    We promote free enterprise and act as a catalyst for the growth of knowledge economy. We are proudly pan-Nigeria yet richly spiced with African and global news. We offer a fair and balanced news reportage presented by our team of well-heeled professional journalists...

    About us

    • 5 Olutosin Ajayi Street, By CPM Church, Ajao Estate, Lagos State, Nigeria
    • +234 805 680 1124
    • info@politicaleconomistng.com
    • Recent

    • Popular

    • Comments

    • UNICEF

      UNICEF to provide psychosocial support to released Jangebe schoolgirls

      By Admin
      March 2, 2021
    • Congo

      Boko Haram ‘Directly Targeted’ Aid Facilities In Borno – UN

      By Admin
      March 2, 2021
    • e-Commerce

      e-Commerce: Call to rescue SMEs’ data genocide; role of Konga, others

      By Admin
      March 2, 2021
    • Buhari

      Rising Insecurity: Buhari Declares Zamfara State ‘No-Fly Zone’, Bans Mining Activities 

      By Admin
      March 2, 2021
    • Jonathan Sacks IGP Abba, Appoints Arase

      By Admin
      April 21, 2015
    • Zinox iPower Inverter Claws to Market Dominance

      By Admin
      November 24, 2014
    • Police foil another suicide bomb attempt in Borno, kill three bombers

      By Admin
      April 24, 2017
    • Your Kidney is Your Life, Watch Your Lifestyle, Counsels Dr. Amira

      By Admin
      February 27, 2015
    • Justopec
      on
      April 24, 2017

      Police foil another suicide bomb attempt in Borno, kill three bombers

      Good one for the ...
    • Justice Shedrack
      on
      April 24, 2017

      Police foil another suicide bomb attempt in Borno, kill three bombers

      Nice
    • Anonymouse
      on
      February 8, 2017

      Qatar Airways makes history, completes first longest non-stop flight of 16 hours from Doha to New ...

      This is nice...
    • Justice Shedrack
      on
      January 19, 2017

      Confusion in Gambia, Jammeh stays put, Barrow to be sworn in at Gambia embassy in Senegal

      Na wa ooooo

    Find us on Facebook

    Follow us

    • Home
    • About us
    • Contact us
    • Privacy Policy
    © Copyright Political Economist. All rights reserved.