Tag: WORLD BANK

CBN multiple exchange rates may increase debt burden – World Bank

Aminu Imam

The President of the World Bank Group, David Malpass, has warned that Nigeria’s parallel exchange rate is harmful, as it worsens future debt service payments and increases the risk of debt distress. Malpass said this in a blog post, titled: “Parallel Exchange Rates: The World Bank’s Approach to Helping People in Developing Countries”, published on Wednesday on the bank’s website. According to Malpass, about 24 emerging and developing economies, including Nigeria, have an active parallel currency market. The World Bank chief noted that parallel exchange rates are expensive and can…

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“Suspend $800m loan disbursement to FG- SERAP tells World Bank

Aminu Imam

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP), has requested World Bank President, David Malpass, to halt all loan payments to the Federal Government totaling $800 million and to ask the incoming administration to offer convincing justifications for the loan. The term of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration expires in May 2023, thus SERAP is inviting Malpass to renew the conversation with the incoming administration on the allegedly approved $800 million loan in order to explain the specifics of its justification and intended use. The Federal Government stated its intention to use…

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Nigeria’s 96% revenue used on debt service in 2022 – World Bank

Aminu Imam

The World Bank says that Nigeria’s constant fiscal deficit has worsened the nation’s public debt stock, with 96.3 per cent of government revenue spent on servicing debt in 2022. The Bretton Woods institution disclosed this in its recent report: ‘Macro Poverty Outlook for Nigeria: April 2023 brief’. The report said, “The fiscal position deteriorated. In 2022, the cost of the petrol subsidy increased from 0.7 per cent to 2.3 per cent GDP. Low non-oil revenues and high-interest payments compounded fiscal pressures. The fiscal deficit was estimated at 5.0 percent of…

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‘New naira, fuel scarcity may influence election uncertainty’ – World Bank

Aminu Imam

The World Bank Country Office in Nigeria has disclosed that the persistent fuel scarcity and the inability of Nigerians to access the new naira notes may influence uncertainty ahead of the February 25 and March 10 elections in the country. According to the bank, the deadline for old notes will socially and economically affect vulnerable people in the country. Earlier, the Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN), announced February 10 as the deadline for the exchange of old notes. The bank projected that Nigeria would not be able to attain a…

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Inflation erodes Nigeria’s minimum wage by 55%, increases poverty – World Bank

Aminu Imam

…’Nigeria needs help’ – Finance Minister Nigeria’s accelerated inflation growth has eroded the value of Nigeria’s N30 thousand minimum wage by 55 percent, and widened the poverty net with an estimated five million people in 2022, the World Bank has revealed. This was revealed at the Corporation’s launch of the Nigeria Development Update for December 2022 Edition, and the Country Economic Memorandum held in Abuja yesterday. Nigeria’s inflation rate, which currently stands at 21.47 percent, is the highest peak in at least 17 years and the income of citizens is…

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“It would take Nigeria 300 years to build world-class infrastructure” – World Bank

Aminu Imam

The World Bank says Nigeria would need 300 years to fill its infrastructure gap at its current pace of development. The Bank made this disclosure recently, while assessing Nigeria’s capacity to build the kind of infrastructure the country is currently seeking funding from it for. The Federal Government has in the past justified its borrowing expenditure by asserting that the funds would be used to build state-of-the-art infrastructures. Last month, President Muhammadu Buhari, while explaining his rationale behind the Nigerian government’s borrowing, stated that it is imperative that necessary infrastructure…

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Corruption: World Bank sanctions seven Nigerian firms, individuals

Aminu Imam

Seven Nigerian firms and individuals have been sanctioned by the World Bank over alleged corruption during the bank’s 2022 fiscal year. The bank disclosed this in its Sanctions System Annual Report for the latest fiscal Year 2022, which covered July 1, 2021, to June 30, 2022. Three Nigerians and four Nigerian companies who were found guilty of corruption of necessary investigations by the Washington-based bank made the list. Out of the four companies, two were sanctioned by the African Development Bank, (AfDB), but recognised by other multilateral organisations, including the…

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60% of extreme poor live in Nigeria, other S/Saharan African countries — World Bank  

Aminu Imam

The World Bank Group has disclosed that Sub-Saharan Africa now accounts for 60% of all people in extreme poverty —389 million, more than any other region.  The Bank, in its new study, tagged: ‘Poverty and Shared Prosperity Report‘, stated that “most of this extreme poor live in Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa. The region’s poverty rate is about 35%, the world’s highest. To achieve the 2030 poverty goal, each country in the region would need to achieve per-capita GDP growth of 9% per year for the remainder of…

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Conflict, a major driver of food insecurity in Nigeria, others – World Bank

Aminu Imam

The World Bank has identified conflict as one of the critical drivers of food insecurity in West Africa, especially in the north-western part of Nigeria and the Liptako Gourma region, which borders Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger Republic. In its latest ‘Food Security Update’ report, the multilateral institution noted that the number of conflicts and fatalities reported between January and June 2022 had already surpassed what was recorded in the first half of 2021. According to the report, conflict and fatalities were expected to reach a record high in 2022,…

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Nigeria ranks 4th on IDA debtors’ list with $13bn debt

Aminu Imam

Nigeria has moved one spot up in the latest top 10 International Development Association (IDA) borrowers’ list, with $13 billion debt. The IDA, which is a part of the World Bank, helps the world’s poorest countries. Other countries in the top five positions are India in the first position, Bangladesh in the second position, Pakistan in the third position, and Vietnam in the fifth position. Whereas the other top 5 countries reduced their debts between 2021 and 2022, Nigeria increased its debt by 11.11% after accumulating an additional $1.3bn to…

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