SERAP Asks World Bank to tread carefully in disbursing $114.28m credit & grant for COVID-19 to Nigeria's FG & 36 state governments

A nonprofit, nonpartisan, legal and advocacy organisation devoted to promoting transparency, accountability & respect for socio-economic rights in Nigeria, SERAP has asked the World Bank to tread carefully in disbursing $114.28m credit & grant for COVID-19 to federal authorities & 36 state governments, if the Bank is to reduce vulnerability to corruption/mismanagement; & to disclose the consequences of Nigeria defaulting.

BREAKING: We’ve asked the World Bank to tread carefully in disbursing $114.28m credit & grant for COVID-19 to federal authorities & 36 state governments, if the Bank is to reduce vulnerability to corruption/mismanagement; & to disclose the consequences of Nigeria defaulting.

— SERAP (@SERAPNigeria) August 9, 2020

The Bank Board of Directors last Friday approved a $114.28 financing to help Nigeria fight COVID-19 with a specific focus on state level responses. The $100 million credit with Project ID number: P173980, is due to be paid back over 30 years, with additional 5 years grace period.

The letter sent yesterday to the Bank President @DavidMalpassWBG , read in part: “The World Bank has a responsibility to ensure that federal authorities & state governments are transparent & accountable to Nigerians in how they spend the approved credit & grant/use the resources.

We are concerned that the money & resources may be stolen, diverted or mismanaged by authorities & state governors without effective transparency & accountability mechanisms, especially given increasing reports of allegations of corruption & mismanagement of COVID-19 funds."