By Tony Obiechina, Abuja
The Federal Government of Nigeria is to benefit from a $500 million loan facility from the World Bank for the Human Capital Opportunities for Prosperity and Equity (HOPE) project in the country.
Minister of Budget and Economic Planning Sen. Abubakar Atiku Bagudu, disclosed this during a courtesy visit by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Nigeria, Mr. Axel Schimmelpfennig.
The loan facility, according to the Minister, will increase the availability and effectiveness for financing for basic education and primary healthcare in the various states of the federation.
A statement by the Director of information in the ministry, Mrs. Osagie Jacobs, quoted the minister as saying that the fund will enhance transparency and accountability for basic education and primary healthcare in addition to improving recruitments, deployments and better performance management of teachers.
While appreciating the support of the World Bank, Bagudu described the Nigerian Constitution as the legal framework that provides the rules and procedures that guide the budget process in addition to empowering the federal and state governments to make expenditures in the preceding year for the purpose of meeting expenditure to carry on the services of the government.
Bagudu explained that the reforms embarked on by the Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration were aimed at developing and implementing economic and tax reforms that will guarantee more functional Public Financial Management (PFM) systems in the country.
Earlier, Schimmelpfennig said he was in the country to have interactions with the Minister on the workings of the Nigerian budgeting process with particular emphasis on the simultaneous implementation of the 2023/2024 budgets and supplementary budgets in the same year in preparation for the publication of the 2025 annual report of the World Bank.
He applauded the tax reforms of the federal government as increased revenue generation will ensure more developments for Nigerian citizens and thus promised the country of more IMF support for Nigeria’s developmental needs.
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