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Why We Wrote World Bank Over FG’s Proposed $800 Million Loan — Activist Reveals

Published

2 years ago

May 13, 2023

Mallam Hamzat Lawal, the Chief Executive Officer of Connected Development (CODE), has revealed why his organisation and another civic establishment, BudgIT, wrote the World Bank concerning the $ 800 million loan sought by the Nigerian government.

The Federal Government had in April announced its plan to secure the World Bank loan to be disbursed to about 50 million vulnerable Nigerians or 10 million households as part of its fuel

The move caused outrage in the country, considering the mounting debt profile of the Buhari administration.

Speaking on Hard Copy, an interview programme on Channels Television, Mallam Lawal noted that the government’s decision not to carry along other stakeholders was in bad taste.

”It was a shock. It was surprising that there was little dialogue between civil society, government, and even other partners on specifically what this money would be achieved with.

”It created that very toxic environment in the digital and mainstream media space, and that’s why, as civic organisations, we (CODE and BudgIT) jointly reached out to the World Bank just trying to understand what the money will be used for.

”I think the National Assembly must rise to the occasion because if they grant that approval today, the World Bank will disburse. The National Assembly should use its powers to call for a public hearing.

”It would also help to ensure that all the grey areas are answered and Nigerians can understand specifically what this money would be used for.
I don’t expect them to expedite action and approve this $800 million loan.”

Speaking on whether the loan is necessary, Mallam Lawal said: “Taking a loan is not a bad thing, but what do we do with this loan? People are poor. We also need to be clear that people that were in the middle class in 2019 are now poor.

”Because, when you look at the impact of COVID-19, recession, and even inflation that we are experiencing, so, yes, we need to support poor people, but my worry is how do we go about it so there are no leakages.

”We have poor people, it is not their doing that they are poor. And as a government, as people, we must care for these poor people.

”The Conditional Cash Transfer scheme was largely successful, and people benefitted from it because it actually increased enrollment in schools. But, when you talk about COVID, the government failed.

”Up till now, they cannot tell us what they did with the COVID money and who benefitted from it.

”That’s why for me, it is about closing these gaps and leakages beyond collecting $800 million. It is only $800 million that we know about, but there are other interventions, and loans that government would collect and have been collecting that are not in the public domain.

”So, it is how do we put in place mechanisms that curbs corruption and those leakages and these monies won’t end up in personal pockets.”

He advised that the Open Government Partnership platform can be explored to ensure transparency in government spending.

His words: ”We have the Open Government Partnership that brings together civil society, media, and government, and it is being co-chaired by government and civil society.

”It’s just for us to have this robust conversation and even for the government to agree, and then we set a timeline. This is not rocket science. This is public money given to you based on public trust.

”Today, most government data are not public, and most of the ones public, are not measurable. This must change, because, no how good a government policy is, if the Nigerian people don’t buy into it, it will never be successful.”

VANGUARD

Headline

Welcome Home, Israel Confirms Return Of 20 Hostages From Gaza

Published

11 hours ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Israel said that the last 20 living hostages released by Hamas on Monday had arrived in the country.

“Welcome home,” the foreign ministry wrote in a series of posts on X, hailing the return of Matan Angrest, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Elkana Bohbot, Rom Braslavski, Nimrod Cohen, David Cunio, Ariel Cunio, Evyatar David, Guy Gilboa Dalal, Maxim Herkin, Eitan Horn, Segev Kalfon, Bar Kuperstein, Omri Miran, Eitan Mor, Yosef Haim Ohana, Alon Ohel, Avinatan Or and Matan Zangauker.

AFP

Headline

20 Members Of Gang Blacklisted By US Escape Guatemala Prison

Published

14 hours ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

Twenty members of a gang designated a “foreign terrorist organisation” by the United States have escaped from detention in Guatemala, a prison chief said Sunday.

The members of the Barrio 18 gang “evaded security controls” at the Fraijanes II facility, prison director Ludin Godinez said at a news conference.

He received “an intelligence report” on Friday warning about the “possible escape” from the prison, which is southeast of the capital, Guatemala City.

Godinez said they were investigating possible acts of corruption.

Washington last month blacklisted Barrio 18, an El Salvador-based gang which has a reputation for violence and extortion, as part of its crackdown on drug trafficking.

The US embassy in Guatemala condemned the prison escape as “utterly unacceptable.”

“The United States designated members of this heinous group as the terrorists they are and will hold accountable anyone who has provided, provides, or decides to provide material support to these fugitives or other gang members,” the embassy said on X.

It called on the Guatemalan government to “act immediately and vigorously to recapture these terrorists.”

According to Interior Minister Francisco Jimenez, there are about 12,000 gang members and collaborators in Guatemala, while another 3,000 are in prison.

The country’s homicide rate has increased from 16.1 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024 to 17.65 this year, more than double the world average, according to the Centre for National Economic Research.

According to the Salvadoran government, the gangs Barrio 18 and Mara Salvatrucha, better known as MS-13, are responsible for the deaths of about 200,000 people over three decades.

The two gangs once controlled an estimated 80 percent of El Salvador, which had one of the highest homicide rates in the world.

Headline

South Africa Bus Crash Kills 40 Including Malawi, Zimbabwe Nationals

Published

14 hours ago

October 13, 2025

Editor

At least 40 people, including nationals of Malawi and Zimbabwe, were killed when a passenger bus rolled down an embankment in South Africa, a provincial transport minister said Monday.

The bus travelling to Zimbabwe crashed around 90 kilometres (55 miles) from the border on Sunday after the driver apparently lost control, Limpopo province transport minister Violet Mathye said.

“They are still working on the scene, but 40 bodies have already been confirmed to date,” Mathye told the Newzroom Afrika channel. The dead included a 10-month-old girl, she said.

Thirty-eight people were in hospital and rescuers were searching for other victims, she told eNCA media.

The bus was travelling from the southern city of Gqeberha, around 1,500 kilometres away, and its passengers included Malawians and Zimbabweans who were working in South Africa. The crash may have been caused by driver fatigue or a mechanical fault, the minister said.

South Africa has a sophisticated and busy road network with a high rate of road deaths, blamed mostly on speeding, reckless driving and unroadworthy vehicles.

AFP