Nigeria’s government is seeking a $1.5 billion loan from the World Bank to help fund its budget, Finance Minister Wale Edun said, as the International Monetary Fund welcomed recent government reforms and said it’s open to funding the West African nation.
The authorities in Nigeria have “concluded plans” to seek funding from the World Bank, including concessional financing from the International Development Association, the Lagos-based ThisDay newspaper quoted Edun as saying. The IDA is an arm of the World Bank that provides help to the world’s poorer countries.
The cabinet will discuss the proposal to seek World Bank funding at a Federal Executive Council meeting in the capital, Abuja, on Monday, ThisDay reported. The meeting, confirmed by the presidency, will be the FEC’s first since Aug. 28.
Nigeria is seeking funding as it implements a series of economic reforms to accelerate economic growth and support more the than 40% of its 200 million people who live in poverty. Over the past eight years, the nation’s debt has increased almost eight-fold to more than $110 billion, and servicing those obligations consumed 96% of government revenue in 2022.
The IMF welcomed the recent reforms, including unifying Nigeria’s various exchange rates, and said it’s prepared to help the government.
“As every member country of the IMF, Nigeria can seek IMF financing if they see this as helpful to address external imbalances,” the Lagos-based Punch newspaper quoted the fund as saying. “The Nigerian authorities have not approached the IMF with a request for financing.”
Monday, October 16, 2023
Nigeria looking for $1.5 Billion Loan From World Bank
Friday, October 13, 2023
President Tinubu nominates new head of EFCC
Nigeria's president nominated a lawyer to head its anti-graft agency after President Bola Tinubu suspended the previous chief amid corruption allegations, his spokesperson said on Thursday.
Tinubu's nomination of Ola Olukoyede, a former chief of staff to the previous head of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), comes four months after he suspended indefinitely Abdulrasheed Bawa for alleged abuse of office.
The EFCC is tasked with investigating and prosecuting graft in Africa's largest oil exporter and biggest economy, which has grappled with endemic corruption for decades.
If confirmed by the Senate, Olukoyede will take the reins of an agency that is leading extradition proceedings for former oil minister Diezani Alison-Madueke, charged with receiving bribes in the form of cash, luxury goods, flights on private jets and the use of high-end properties in Britain in return for awarding oil contracts.
Nigerians blame corruption by the political elite for widespread poverty in the country, which is facing chronic dollar shortages, a high debt burden, double digit inflation and sluggish growth.
By Felix Onuah, Reuters
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Thursday, October 12, 2023
Nigeria halts all Christian pilgrimages to Israel
Nigeria has temporarily halted all pilgrimages to Israel. This move follows a surge in deadly hostilities over the weekend, disrupting the plans of eager Easter pilgrims.
Originally scheduled to depart for Israel and Jordan on Tuesday, the pilgrimage for a group of committed Christians has now been canceled until further notice. The Nigerian government's Christian Pilgrim Commission has confirmed this decision, emphasizing the prevailing uncertainty caused by the ongoing conflict.
Sunny Udeh, the commission's Director for Mobilization and Sensitization, shared his thoughts on the matter, stating, "The war has created uncertainties in our planning for the main pilgrimage in December... we do hope the hostilities will end before the end of the year." It is a sentiment that underscores the desire for peace in the region.
On average, approximately 18,000 Christian pilgrims from Nigeria embark on journeys to holy sites in Israel and Jordan each year. The commission's commitment to ensuring the safety of these Nigerian pilgrims remains unwavering, prompting them to closely monitor the situation in Israel.
The recent escalation in violence stems from an attack launched by the Palestinian militant group Hamas against Israel last Saturday. Tragically, the conflict has claimed the lives of at least 1,200 Israelis, with retaliatory strikes on the Gaza Strip from Tel Aviv resulting in the deaths of at least 1,000 Palestinians.
The Nigerian government has called for an end to hostilities and a ceasefire between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters. Their stance prioritizes a peaceful resolution to the conflict through dialogue.
It's worth noting that, despite the ongoing chaos in the region, commercial flights from Nigeria to Tel Aviv remain unaffected. The situation continues to be closely monitored, with hope for a swift return to normalcy and peace in the region.
Diphtheria outbreak kills 600 in Nigeria
More than 600 people, mostly children, have died of diphtheria in Nigeria since the current outbreak began in December 2022, officials say.
With 14,000 suspected cases, this outbreak is far worse than the last one in 2011 when 98 cases were reported.
Kano state, in northern Nigeria, is the epicentre, recording more than 500 deaths, but there has been a recent decline in active cases.
Diphtheria is highly contagious and affects the nose and throat.
It can also cause ulcers on the skin.
It is spread by coughs and sneezes or through close contact with someone who is infected, and in serious cases can be fatal.
It is preventable through vaccines, but many of the children who have died in Nigeria were unvaccinated, said Dr Faisal Shuaib, the head of the National Primary Health Care Development Agency.
During a visit to a diphtheria isolation centre in Kano city on Wednesday, he added: "Witnessing the young children suffering from this entirely preventable disease at the centre today was profoundly heart-wrenching".
The death toll has risen since 24 September, the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) reported 453 fatalities, and 11,587 suspected cases.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said the fatality and infection rate may be higher due to low testing and the failure by some patients to report their symptoms.
But Dr Shuaib said that measures, including contact tracing, have contributed to a decline in the number of cases.
The outbreak has hit 19 of Nigeria's 36 states as well as the federal capital, Abuja.
The worst-affected states are all in the north - Kano, Yobe, Katsina, Borno, Jigawa and Kaduna.
Health authorities are rallying parents with unvaccinated or partly vaccinated children to get them immunised, insisting that immunisation is the most powerful way of controlling the ongoing outbreak.
The WHO said that only 57% of Nigerians are immunised with the pentavalent vaccine, which protects against five life-threatening diseases, including diphtheria.
Nigeria must increase vaccinations to cover at least 80% of the population to prevent future diphtheria outbreaks, it added.
The last major outbreak in the country was in 2011, when 21 people died and 98 were infected in Borno state, the WHO said.
By Gloria Aradi, BBC
Related story: Video - Nigeria confirms diphtheria outbreak
Wednesday, October 11, 2023
Gunmen kidnap four in central Nigeria university town
Gunmen in Nigeria kidnapped four people from a house in the university town of Keffi, in central Nasarawa state, police said on Tuesday.
Kidnapping for ransom is rife in Nigeria, but attacks have mostly been in the northwest region where armed men have targeted university students.
Nasarawa police spokesperson Rahman Nansel said police received a distress call at about 0155 GMT on Tuesday after armed men invaded a house in Angwan Kaare community and responded with the military, but the kidnappers had already fled with their victims.
"The Commissioner of Police has ordered a manhunt for the culprits with a view to rescue the four victims unhurt," Nansel said in a statement.
Keffi is about 70 km (43 miles) east of Abuja, the Nigerian capital.
Kidnapping for ransom is part of widespread insecurity in Nigeria. Islamist insurgents still carry out deadly attacks in the northeast, violent clashes between herders and farmers continue to claim lives in the central region, and separatists attack security forces in the southeast.
By Ahmed Kingimi, Reuters
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