by Oluwatunmise Omoseyin
Nigeria is set to access a $500 million loan facility from the World Bank to support the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) project. This initiative aims to bolster basic education and primary healthcare across the country.
This was disclosed by the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, during a courtesy visit by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Nigeria, Mr Axel Schimmelpfennig. The announcement was further confirmed in a statement issued by Mrs Osagie Jacobs, the ministry’s Director of Information on Wednesday, December 11, 2024.
According to Senator Bagudu, the loan facility will play a critical role in addressing Nigeria’s human capital challenges.
“The fund will enhance transparency and accountability for basic education and primary health care in addition to improving recruitments, deployments and better performance management of Teachers,” he said.
The minister highlighted that the Nigerian Constitution provides the legal framework guiding budgetary processes.
“The Nigerian Constitution is the legal framework that provides the rules and procedures that guides the budget process. This expenditure can continue for a period not exceeding six months or until the coming into operation of the law as can be seen on Chapter 5, Part 2 Section 122 of the Nigerian Constitution,” Bagudu explained.
He emphasised that the ongoing economic reforms under the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration are critical to resetting the Nigerian economy.
“These reforms are aimed at developing and implementing economic and tax policies that will guarantee more functional Public Financial Management (PFM) systems in the country. The economic reforms are necessary decisions to put the Nigerian economy on the right track,” the minister stated.
While acknowledging the hardship caused by the recent removal of fuel subsidies, the floating of the foreign exchange regime, and electricity reforms, Bagudu reassured the IMF team of Nigeria’s commitment to recovery.
“Though Nigeria is experiencing challenges such as hardship among citizens, the country is on course for economic recovery,” he affirmed.
The minister expressed appreciation for the World Bank’s support and urged the IMF and other multinational partners to enhance their resource mobilisation efforts.
“We appreciate the willingness of the IMF to support Nigeria but call for more assistance in mobilising resources to ensure the government can provide developments across all sectors of the economy,” Bagudu added.
The HOPE project, as envisioned, is expected to serve as a transformative tool in Nigeria’s efforts to improve the living standards of its citizens by enhancing access to quality education and healthcare services.
