The Nigerian government has secured an $800 million loan from the World Bank to expand its national social program before the removal of its costly petrol subsidies in June, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed announced on Wednesday.
The country allocated 3.36 trillion naira ($7.3 billion) this year to cover the cost of petrol subsidies, which is expected to be removed in mid-2023, and the new program is aimed at helping vulnerable Nigerians cope with the impact of the subsidy cut. According to Ahmed, some parts of the program will be implemented quickly, while others will be implemented in the long term.
Last year, the World Bank predicted that the COVID-19 pandemic would drive over 11 million Nigerians into poverty by 2022, pushing the total number of poor people in the country to over 100 million, while the population is estimated at 200 million.
Discussions on the removal of the subsidy are currently ongoing at various levels of government, including with the incoming administration of President-elect Bola Tinubu, who is set to assume office in May after President Muhammadu Buhari steps down.
Labour Minister Chris Ngige has recommended that public sector workers be given pay rises after the subsidy removal in June, and many Nigerians view cheap, subsidised fuel as one of the few benefits they receive from the government, which is believed to receive billions of dollars annually from oil exports but fails to provide other basic services such as electricity and security.
