The Senate approves President Bola Tinubu’s $800 million World Bank loan request, as read by Godswill Akpabio at Thursday’s plenary.
The president explained that the loan would be used to expand the national social safety net programme. The Federal Government has decided to transfer N8, 000 monthly to 12 million poor households for six months. He said the money would go directly to the beneficiaries’ accounts. The President approved an $800 million loan from the World Bank for the National Social Safety Net programme. The facility aims to extend shock-responsive safety net support to help poor and vulnerable Nigerians with basic needs.
The Nigerian government will transfer N8, 000 per month to 12 million households for six months, benefiting a total of 60 million individuals. Digital transfers will be sent directly to beneficiaries’ accounts and mobile wallets to ensure credibility. The programme is expected to boost economic activities in the informal sector and enhance nutrition, health, education, and human capital development in beneficiaries’ households. Therefore, I invite the Senate to kindly approve the $800 million additional loan facility from the World Bank for the National Social Safety Net Programme.
The Senate approved the request after a closed session from 3:32 p.m. to 4 p.m.At 4:41 pm, the President’s letter was read by Senator Godswill Akpabio during Plenary. The NLC and TUC oppose President Tinubu’s plans, saying they contradict the work of the Presidential Technical Committee on Subsidy Removal.
The NLC and TUC argue that the President’s undemocratic and window-dressing committee is undermined by his own activities. They question the effectiveness of the N8, 000 palliative payment plan, which is expected to address millions of Nigerians’ suffering. The President of the Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, Festus Osifo, and the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Dr. Tommy Okon, criticise the programme as an economic waste.
