The Federal Government 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, made this known when he hosted the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Nigeria, Mr. Axel Schimmelpfennig in Abuja.
This is contained in a statement signed by the Director of information in the ministry, Mrs. Osagie Jacobs, in Abuja.
According to the statement the loan facility will increase the availability and effectiveness for financing basic education and primary healthcare in the various states of the federation.
The statement explains 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.
“The Nigerian Constitution is 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”
The statement explains 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.
It adds that earlier, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Mission Chief for Nigeria, Mr. Axel Schimmelpfennig applauds 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.
Schimmelpfennig is 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.
