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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

Editor

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

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Iran, Israel Need ‘To Fight It Out’ To Reach Deal – Trump

Published

1 hour ago

June 16, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump on Sunday urged Iran and Israel — who are locked in an exchange of military strikes — to “make a deal,” but suggested they might need to “fight it out” first.

“I think it’s time for a deal,” Trump told reporters, as Israel and Iran exchanged a fresh barrage of missile strikes and threatened more devastation in a conflict that appeared to be intensifying.

“But sometimes they have to fight it out, but we’re going to see what happens,” Trump said, speaking at the White House before heading to Canada to take part in a G7 summit.

After decades of enmity and a prolonged shadow war fought through proxies and covert operations, the latest conflict marks the first time arch-enemies Israel and Iran have traded fire with such intensity, triggering fears of a lengthy conflict that could engulf the entire Middle East.

It began Friday, when Israel launched attacks that have killed top military commanders and nuclear scientists, and struck military bases, nuclear sites and residential areas across the country.

Trump refused to answer a question about whether he had asked Israel to pause airstrikes on Iran.

Earlier, a senior US official told AFP that Trump had vetoed an Israeli plan to assassinate Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that he believed the two sides “should make a deal, and will make a deal.”

There are “many calls and meetings now taking place” on the issue and peace could be achieved “soon” between the longtime adversaries, he said.

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Trump Orders Deportation Drive Targeting Democratic Cities

Published

2 hours ago

June 16, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump on Sunday directed federal authorities to ramp up deportation efforts in Democratic-led cities, doubling down on a politicized anti-immigration drive after major protests in Los Angeles.

“We must expand efforts to detain and deport Illegal Aliens in America’s largest Cities, such as Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York, where Millions upon Millions of Illegal Aliens reside,” Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

“These, and other such Cities, are the core of the Democrat Power Center,” he claimed, citing debunked right-wing conspiracy theories that undocumented immigrants are voting in US elections in significant numbers.

Trump has made deporting undocumented immigrants a key priority for his second term, after successfully campaigning against an alleged “invasion” by criminals.

Raids by the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in Los Angeles sparked unruly protests, prompting Trump last week to deploy 4,000 National Guards and 700 Marines, against the wishes of local and state authorities.

California has sued to regain control of the National Guardsmen from Trump, arguing he overstepped his authority. That suit is working its way through federal court.

In a long screed on Truth Social Sunday, the Republican president charged that “every day, the Brave Men and Women of ICE are subjected to violence, harassment, and even threats from Radical Democrat Politicians.”

But, he insisted, “nothing will stop us from executing our mission… ICE Officers are herewith ordered … to do all in their power to achieve the very important goal of delivering the single largest Mass Deportation Program in History.”

Trump insisted that “Radical Left Democrats are sick of mind, hate our Country, and actually want to destroy our Inner Cities — And they are doing a good job of it!”

“There is something wrong with them,” he said, listing a litany of grievances, including charges that Democrats “believe in Open Borders, Transgender for Everybody, and Men playing in Women’s Sports.”

That, he said, was why he wanted ICE and other law enforcement agencies “to FOCUS on our crime ridden and deadly Inner Cities.”

Doubling down on his characteristic bluster, Trump seemed to compare migration to the United States with weapons of mass destruction.

He said he had directed his entire administration “to put every resource possible behind this effort, and reverse the tide of Mass Destruction Migration that has turned once Idyllic Towns into scenes of Third World Dystopia.”

With his typical divisive rhetoric, Trump said he wanted “our Brave Officers to know that REAL Americans are cheering you on every day.”

“To ICE, FBI, DEA, ATF, the Patriots at Pentagon and the State Department, you have my unwavering support. Now go, GET THE JOB DONE!” he wrote.

Headline

Netanyahu Says Israel’s Strikes On Iran Have ‘Clear Support’ Of Trump

Published

2 days ago

June 14, 2025

Editor

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that Israel’s air strikes on Iran had the “clear support” of US President Donald Trump.

“Our enemy is your enemy… We’re dealing with something that will threaten all of us sooner or later. Our victory will be your victory,” Netanyahu said in a video statement addressed to Trump on the US leader’s birthday.

“This is what Israel is doing with the support, the clear support of the president of the United States, Donald Trump, and the American people and many others in the world.”