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to Access World Bank’s $500m Credit Facility to Boost Human Capital Devt

James Emejo in Abuja
The Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Senator. Abubakar Bagudu, yesterday said the federal government was set to benefit from a $500 million loan from the World Bank for the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) project in the country.
The minister disclosed this when the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Nigeria, Mr. Axel Schimmelpfennig, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
He said the facility would increase the availability and effective financing for basic education and primary health care in the various states of the federation.
The fund would also enhance transparency and accountability for basic education and primary health care in addition to improving recruitments, deployments and better performance management of teachers.
While appreciating the support of the World Bank, Bagudu stressed that the constitution remained the legal framework that provides the rules and procedures that guides the budget process.
This, he said, further empowers the federal and state governments to make expenditures in the preceding year for the purpose of meeting expenditure necessary to carry on the services of the government.
The minister pointed out that this expenditure could continue for a period not exceeding six months or until the coming into operation of the law as stipulated in Chapter 5, Part 2 Section 122 of the Nigerian Constitution.
Bagudu further explained that the reforms embarked upon by the President Bola Tinubu’s administration were aimed at developing and implementing economic and tax reforms that will guarantee more functional Public Financial Management (PFM) systems in the country.
He said, “The economic reforms are necessary decisions to put the Nigerian economy on the right track.”
He assured the IMF team that though Nigeria was experiencing a number of challenges including hardship as a result of removal of fuel subsidy, floating of foreign exchange, electricity reforms that distributed citizens into bands, the country, nonetheless, remained on course to economic recovery.
The minister also appreciated the willingness of the IMF to support Nigeria and called for more support in the area of resource mobilisation from multinational partners for the government to provide developments in all sectors of the economy.
Earlier, Schimmelpfennig said he was in the country to interact with the minister on the workings of the Nigerian budgeting process, with particular emphasis on the simultaneous implementation of the 2023/2024 budgets and supplementary budgets in the same year in preparation for the publication of the World Bank’s 2025 annual report.
He welcomed the tax reforms of the federal government as increased revenue generation will ensure more developments for Nigerian citizens.
Schimmelpfennig, therefore, promised the country of more IMF support for Nigeria’s developmental needs.
The Permanent Secretary, Dr. Vitalis Emeka Obi, briefed the team on the ministry’s role in coordinating Nigeria’s development planning and budgeting processes.
The Permanent Secretary emphasised that 2025 promises to be a year of more rapid investments, according to a statement issued by the ministry’s Director, Information, Mrs. Osagie Jacobs.