By Mohammed Bello Doka
The Senate has granted accelerated approval to President Bola Tinubu's request for an $800 million loan. The decision was made by the upper legislative chamber on Thursday following a motion put forward by Opeyemi Bamidele, the Senate leader.
According to the request, the loan will be utilized to expand the national social safety net program and minimize the impact of the removal of petrol subsidy. Tinubu stated that the Federal Government intends to transfer a monthly sum of N8,000 to 12 million impoverished and low-income households for a period of six months. It is important to note that the loan will be sourced from the World Bank.
Former President Muhammadu Buhari had previously sought the approval of the National Assembly for the same loan before the end of his administration. Unfortunately, due to time constraints, the request could not be granted by the National Assembly under the chairmanship of Ahmad Lawan.
Tinubu highlighted in a letter to the National Assembly, "You may further wish to note that under the conditional cash transfer window of the program, the Federal Government of Nigeria will transfer the sum of N8,000 per month to 12 million poor and low-income households for a period of six months, with a multiplier effect on about 60 million individuals. In order to guarantee the credibility of the process, digital transfers will be made directly to beneficiaries' accounts and mobile wallets."
It is worth mentioning that the national social safety net program was introduced by the Buhari administration as a replacement for former President Goodluck Jonathan's subsidy reinvestment and empowerment program (SURE-P), which was scrapped.
Edited by writerly Ai
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