World Bank grants Nigeria $800m for palliatives on petroleum subsidy removal

Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, has said that the Federal Government has received $800 million from the World Bank to provide palliatives to Nigerians after removal of petroleum subsidy. Zainab Ahmed, said this to journalists on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting in Abuja. She said the $800 million would be the first tranche of palliatives to be disbursed through cash transfers to about 50 million Nigerians who belong to the most vulnerable category of society, The Minister said the Federal Government had a register of 10 million households to be taken care of after the subsidy removal.

“The 10 million households is equivalent to about 50 million Nigerians. But we also have to raise more resources to enable us to do more than just the cash transfers and also in our engagements with the various stakeholders. The various kinds of tasks that we have to do go beyond the requirement of just giving cash transfers. Labour, for example, might be looking for mass transit for its members. So, there are several things that we’re still planning and working on, some we can start executing quickly, some are more of medium-term implementation.” She expressed the federal government’s determination to end the subsidy in June. The minister said the federal government was engaging the Presidential Transition Council (PTC) and the incoming administration to with drive the palliative programme.