$800m Loan: Reject Buhari’s Request – SERAP Tells National Assembly

Civic society group, The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has asked the National Assembly to reject President Muhammadu Buhari’s request to demand $800 million, equivalent to over N360 billion as a new loan from the World Bank.

Gatekeepers News reports that SERAP made this known in a Twitter post released on Wednesday afternoon urging the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and his fellow lawmakers to decline Buhari’s request.

“BREAKING: We urge the Senate President Dr Ahmad Lawan and all senators to immediately reject the request by President Buhari to borrow $800 million from the World Bank.

The Senate must ask the administration to publish details of spending of all loans obtained since May 29, 2015,” the group wrote.

President Muhammadu Buhari wrote to the Senate on Wednesday, requesting that it accept a new loan request of $800 million.

This was stated in a letter read by the Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, that the loan would be sourced from the World Bank and that it would be used to expand the National Social Safety Net Programme.

This new loan request is coming amid a report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) which showed that in the third quarter (Q3) of 2022, Nigeria’s public debt stock rose to N44.06 trillion ($101.91 billion) from N42.84 trillion ($103.31 billion) recorded in the second quarter (Q2) of the same year.