Joined as Respondents in the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/785/2020 are Abubakar Malami, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice; Ms Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning; and Ms Patience Oniha Director-General of the Debt Management Office.

SERAP is seeking: “an order of mandamus to direct and compel President Buhari to tell Nigerians the names of countries and bodies that have given the loans, specific repayment conditions, and whether any public officers solicited and/or received bribes in the negotiations for any of the loans, and if there is plan to audit the spending of the loans, to resolve any allegations of mismanagement and corruption.”

SERAP is also asking the court to: “direct and compel President Buhari to tell Nigerians if he would instruct the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to monitor the spending of all loans obtained since May 2015.”

SERAP is arguing that: “Opacity in the spending of loans would continue to have negative impacts on the fundamental interests of citizens. Transparency would ensure that the loans are not diverted to private pockets, increase public trust that these loans would be used to benefit Nigerians, provide good value for money, and reassure Nigeria’s creditors.”

According to SERAP, “This suit is permitted under the Freedom of Information Act, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the UN Convention against Corruption to which Nigeria is a state party.”

SERAP is also arguing that: “While access to loans can provide indispensable resources, the mismanagement and squandering of any such resources would be counter-productive. Nigerians should no longer be made to repay debts incurred in their name but which have not benefited them in any manner, shape or form.”

The suit followed SERAP’s Freedom of Information (FoI) request dated 30 May, 2020 to President Buhari, expressing “concerns that while governments since 1999 have borrowed money in the name of Nigeria and its citizens, much of the funds have reportedly been mismanaged, stolen or squandered, leaving the citizens with the burden of having to repay these loans.”

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Adelanke Aremo, read in part: “the massive and growing national debts have continued to have negative impacts on socio-economic development and on Nigerians’ access to public goods and services, including quality education, adequate healthcare, clean water, and regular electricity supply.”

“SERAP is praying the court to hold that the interest of the public in publishing the information sought is far greater than any other interest President Buhari may be trying to preserve.”

“Transparency and accountability in the spending details of all the loans that have so far been obtained by the government, and those obtained by previous administrations would mean that the loans can help Nigeria to overcome its acute development challenges, and reduce the possibility of mismanagement and corruption.”

“SERAP is seeking an order to direct and compel President Buhari to disclose information on details of spending of loans obtained by successive governments since the return of democracy in 1999, list of countries and bodies that have given the loans, and specific conditions of repayment of the loans.”

“Obedience to the rule of law by all citizens but more particularly those who publicly took oath of office to protect and preserve the constitution is a desideratum to good governance and respect for the rule of law.”

“The Nigeria Government has signed on to the Open Government Partnership [OGP], and the country is a state party to the UN Convention against Corruption and the African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption.”

It would be recalled that Buhari recently sought the National Assembly’s approval for a fresh loan of $5.513bn, reportedly to fund the 2020 budget deficit, critical projects, and support some states. The National Assembly also recently approved a N850 billion loan. Another loan of $22.79bn, had previously been approved by the National Assembly.

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

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According to Tolu Ogunlesi, his special assistant on digital/new media, the president signed the revised budget into law around 11:04am on Friday.

Nigeria had to revise its budget estimates and assumptions after a drop in crude oil prices and the COVID-19 pandemic affected global supply chains. “Assumptions underlying the 2020 appropriation act are no longer sustainable,” Buhari said.

He also assured that ministries, department and agencies will be given 15 percent of their capital allocation by the end of July.

Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget and national planning, told lawmakers on Thursday that the president would sign the budget on Friday.

The president submitted the initial 2020 budget to the national assembly in October 2019 and signed it into law in December 2019.

After the pandemic hit, the president submitted a revised version of the budget to the national assembly in May.

The original budget size when it was signed into law in December 2019 was N10.594 trillion.

The initial adjustments made to the budget resulted in a N318 billion cut bringing the budget size to N10.276 trillion.

However, the federal executive council at its May 13 meeting increased the total sum of the revised budget to N10.523 trillion, a difference of just about N71.5 billion when compared to the approved budget.

On June 11, the senate increased the total size of the revised budget by N5 billion from N10.805 trillion to N10.810 trillion.

According to the finance minister, changes made to the budget include a revision of the daily crude oil production benchmark to 1.94 million from 2.18 million barrels per day.

The exchange rate has also been adjusted from the initial N305/$.

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The Minister while briefing principal officers of the Senate and House of Representatives led by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, and the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, disclosed that President Muhammadu Buhari had given directives for the Ministry to expedite action on next year’s budget estimates to enable him present the 2021 budget proposal to the National Assembly by the end of September this year.

Mrs. Ahmed further disclosed that in keeping strictly with the January – December budget cycle, the President will tomorrow (Friday) sign into law, the revised N10.8 trillion budget for the year 2020 passed by the National Assembly in June.

“This for us is a journey towards ensuring that the progress that we have made as a collective to return the fiscal year to January – December is maintained for the 2021 budget as well.

“The President has directed that we must deliver the budget to the National Assembly by the end of September,” the Finance Minister said.

Ahmed while giving an update on the 2020 budget implementation between January and May 2020, stated that the Federal Government’s retained revenue was N1.48 trillion, an amount representing 56 percent of government’s target.

She added that out of the sum generated as revenue, oil revenues accounted for N701.6 billion; non-oil tax revenues N439.32 billion; Companies Income Tax (CIT) and Value Added Tax (VAT) collections – N213.24 billion and N68.09 billion; and Customs collection N158 billion, respectively.

“Other revenues amounted to N339.51 billion, of which Independent revenues was N80.22 billion. Recoveries and Stamp duty collected during the period are yet to be booked in the fiscal accounts,” Ahmed said.

On Expenditure performance for the same period (January – May 2020), she disclosed that N1.25 trillion was expended for debt service; and N1.32 trillion for Personnel cost, including Pensions.

According to the Finance Minister, as at the end of May 2020, only N253.33 billion had been released for capital expenditure.

Ahmed while giving underlying assumptions driving the macro-economic parameters and targets of the 2021 – 2023 Medium Term Expenditure Framework, said same was “revised in line with the emergent realities.”

She stated that the Oil Price Benchmark for the 2021 fiscal year was pegged at USD$35; and USD$40 for 2022 and 2023, respectively.

Oil Production (mbpd) was placed at 1.86 for 2021, 2.09 for 2022, and 2.38 for the 2022 fiscal year; while the Exchange Rate remains at N360 to USD$1.

Ahmed stressed that, “although Nigeria’s total production capacity is 2.5 million barrels per day, current crude production is about 1.4 million barrels per day – in compliance with the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries’ production quota – and an additional 300,000 barrels per day of condensates, totaling about 1.7mbpd.”

She added that while the World Bank forecasts that crude oil prices will rise gradually from an average of USD$42 per barrel in 2021 to USD$44.5 per barrel in 2022; and USD$47pb in 2023, it is also expected that Brent crude oil prices may average $41 per barrel during the second half of 2020 and $50pb during 2021, climbing as high as $53pb by the end of next year.

“The nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is expected to increase from N130,836.1 billion in 2020 to N132,125.4 billion in 2021 and then up to N138,415.8 billion in 2023,” Ahmed said.

Earlier, the Senate President in his welcome remarks said, “this meeting is holding at the instance of the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, and the main purpose of the meeting is for the Minister to brief the leadership of the National Assembly on the 2021 – 2023 Medium Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper.

“Therefore, it will not be wrong to say that the journey to the presentation of the 2021 budget estimates by the Executive arm of Government has started in earnest.

“It is our expectation in the National Assembly, that this journey will lead to the presentation or laying of the budget estimates by the President before the end of September by the grace of God.”

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The meeting which had in attendance principal officers from both chambers, was presided over by the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

The Senate President, in his welcome address told the Executive arm of Government to ensure that the interest of Nigerians remains protected in the proposed cut to the 2020 national budget.

Lawan also expressed the willingness of the Federal lawmakers to expeditiously consider the proposed amendment to the 2020 budget which the Minister said would be presented to the National Assembly by next week.

“The budget amendment is very important, but I believe that when we are faced with this kind of challenge (COVID-19 pandemic), it is an emergency and we should do everything and anything possible to fast track the passage and implementation of the government intervention that is so critical and crucial at this stage.

“I believe that we shouldn’t delay it any longer. Next week, and I will suggest the early part of next week, we should have that document(MTEF) ready so that we can consider it alongside the budget. It is supposed to be the tonic of what Nigerians are waiting for.

“We have listened to the various adjustments you have made to avoid going into recession. However, to avoid going into a deeper recession, I think we need to do a little bit much more.

“After this meeting with the leadership, I suggest that you engage with our relevant committees in the Senate and House of Representatives to look at the nitty gritty that would be considered more in detail at the presentation level.

“On the whole, let me assure you that the National Assembly and Executive arm are on the same page, and that is to say that we will work to ensure that we have a budget 2020 amendment that will address the needs of the people of this country.

“One thing is that the net public expenditure must be targeted at net maximum performance for the benefit of the people of this country.

“In other words, we must come up with an amended budget that is operable and favorable to Nigerians,” Lawan said.

In his remarks, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, called on the Federal Government to adopt a feasible benchmark in the proposed amendment to the 2020 budget.

“The benchmark is so critical and so important, because once you passed the law, it becomes difficult to adjust that benchmark, and then what happens to the excess?

“We have always had problems with the Excess Crude Account, potentially an account which has no backing of the law. So, let’s even assume that the price remains static at $35, that means we have $10 going to the Excess Crude Account which we have no control over in terms of spending, that is why we guard that benchmark price very jealously.

“Is there a possibility of having a proviso built in in the budget…So that there can be an automatic kick in if the benchmark price goes beyond $26 or $27. We want you to explore that possibility.

“So, I think you should study the market and see what happens next week by the time you present the adjusted budget,” Gbajabiamila said.

Speaking on Nigeria’s debt profile, the Speaker said, “I would also want to address the issue of our deficit and tie it with the issue of debt relief. I’m not sure I heard any presentation on how much we owe and how much we are paying back in this budget.

“The reason I asked is that at the moment, I believe, for want of a better word, some of our creditors are very vulnerable right now. And depending on how you package your case, I believe they should be the ones coming to beg you to take debt relief, if not outright cancellation.”

Earlier, the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, while briefing the leadership of the National Assembly said, “the US$57 crude oil price benchmark approved in the 2020 budget is no longer sustainable.”

The minister said further that: “it is necessary to reallocate resources in the 2020 budget, to ensure the effective implementation of required emergency measures, and mitigate the negative socioeconomic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Ahmed stated that in line with the global economic outlook and relevant domestic considerations, the assumptions underpinning the 2020-2022 Medium Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2020 Budget was revised to slash crude oil benchmark price from US$57 per barrel to US$25 per barrel; reduce crude oil production benchmark from 2.18 million barrels per day to 1.9 mbpd.

She added that the federal government also adjusted the budget exchange rate to N360/US$1; and reduced the upfront fiscal deductions by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for mandated Oil and Gas sector expenditures by 65 percent from N1.223 trillion to N424 billion.

She disclosed that the amount available for funding the 2020 Budget is now estimated at N5.548 trillion, down from N8.419 trillion, a revised revenue estimate which is 34 percent (N2.87 trillion) lower than what was initially approved.

Federal Government’s aggregate expenditure budget was slashed by N88.412 billion; Statutory Transfer from N560.47 billion to N397.87 billion; and Overhead costs of Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government from N302.43 billion to N240.91 billion.

Debt Service provision was, however, increased from N2.453 trillion to N2.678 trillion.

On Provision of N500 billion for COVID-19 Intervention Fund, the Finance Minister in her presentation explained that N263.63 billion will be sourced from Federal Government Special Accounts, N186.37 billion from Federation Special Accounts and the balance of N50 billion expected as grants and donations.

According to her, “the sum of N186.37 billion will be applied toward COVID-19 interventions across the federation, while an additional N213.60 billion was provided in the Service Wide Votes for COVID-19 Crisis Intervention recurrent expenditures.”

She disclosed that while a total of N100.03 billion was provisioned in the Intervention Fund for new capital spending, the Federal Government carried out a cut in capital expenditures for Ministries, Departments and Agencies of Government from N1.564 trillion to N1.262 trillion.

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Speaking at a news conference on Monday on fiscal stimulus measures in response to COVID-19 pandemic and oil prices fiscal shock in Abuja, Mrs. Ahmed explained N6.5 billion of the sum went into Nigeria Centre for Disease Control’s (NCDC’s) for critical expenditure.

She said that the Federal Government remained committed to supporting the states in these difficult times, particularly those states that were currently battling with the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to her, Lagos State was provided with N10 billion in emergency funding.

She stated that as the situation in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and other states at the forefront of the government’s efforts unfolds, there will be explicit agreement with the Federal Ministry of Health and NCDC to determine when funds would be released to the affected states and the FCT.

She said: “More funds are to be provided from the proposed COVID-19 Crisis Intervention Fund to address emerging and priority funding needs as these arise.

“To complement these initiatives, we are taking steps to activate, release and, where necessary, enhance the hazard allowances provided in the remuneration structure of the federal health sector workers. The Federal Government enjoins the affected states to take similar measures.

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In a tweet on Saturday, Gbajabiamila said engagements are ongoing with electricity distribution companies to work out the details.

“At a meeting today, between @nassnigeria and the minister of finance, @ZShamsuna and her team, I disclosed that @HouseNGR is considering a second stimulus bill that will provide Nigerians with free electricity supply for two months to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” he wrote.

“The proposed bill will boost the economy through the informal sector and is to be considered immediately @HouseNGR reconvenes from its ongoing break.

“The house leadership had engaged the Discos in the last few days to work out the details.”

Various measures have been put in place to mitigate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic, this includes a postponement of the implementation of the new electricity tariff by the National Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC).

Zainab Ahmed, the minister of finance, budget and national planning, is also scheduled to announce the fiscal stimulus measures to be taken by the federal government in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and drop in oil price.

The minister will announce the measures at a press conference that will hold on Monday.

President Muhammadu Buhari had set up a special ministerial taskforce for advice on the general economic outlook, stimulus plans and packages to save the Nigerian economy.

The task force is headed by Ahmed.

Other members of the team are Clem Agba, minister of state for budget and national planning; Timipre Sylva, minister of state for petroleum resources; Godwin Emefiele, Central Bank of Nigeria governor; and Mele Kyari, group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

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The Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed who made this known on Monday in Abuja, during the international conference on Nigeria’s Commodities Market by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), explained that our country is well-endowed with various commodities, comprising agriculture, energy and metal resources, and the capital market community can provide the platform and voice for the much needed diversification.

According to her, “Several national plans, programmes and projects have been directed at diversifying the production and revenue structures of our economy. While some level of achievements have been recorded in this area, more still needs to be done to ensure that our production and exports base become more robust, less vulnerable to external shocks and provide more opportunities to our teeming population.

“Interestingly, the unfolding events of the past few months, the coronavirus pandemic and the oil price war, have further reinforced our resolve to diversify our national economy.

“For instance, the agriculture sector employs about 40 percent of our labour force and accounted for 22 percent of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) at the end of 2019. In the last five years, the sector has recorded positive growth rates, higher than that of the entire economy, and even positive in 2016 when the entire economy went into recession.

“The mining and quarrying sector, dominated by oil and gas, is also a major component of our output, accounting for 9 percent of GDP. The sector is responsible for the bulk of Nigeria’s foreign exchange and government earnings.

“A further examination shows that commodity-dependent activities dominate our manufacturing sector. Specifically, production of Food, Beverage, Tobacco, Textile and Wood products accounted for about 7.5 percent of our GDP. While trading activities accounted for 15.5 percent with many of what is traded being agriculture-based.

“Imagine when all these endowments and activities are further expanded and formalized. There will definitely be greater prosperity for everyone. I believe this Conference will contribute to realizing this vision”.

The Acting Director-General of the SEC, Ms. Mary Uduk, said, “While it is clear that Nigeria is well endowed with agricultural, metals and energy commodities, our potentials in these areas are unrealised.

“The good news however, is that the capital market can be used as an avenue to unlock these potentials and diversify the nation’s economy, while providing jobs, creating values and contributing to governments’ revenue.

“We believe that if we can develop and institutionalise a vibrant commodities trading ecosystem in Nigeria, we can substantially address problems such as lack of storage, poor pricing, non-standardization, as well as low foreign exchange earnings affecting our agriculture and other commodities sub-sectors”.

The Vice President of Nigeria, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, in his remark, said: “As we are all aware, Nigeria is working on diversifying its economy as well as its revenue sources. The need to develop other channels of generating revenue and foreign exchange is critical. This need is further underscored by the recent drop in the global price of crude oil, which also constitutes a major threat to achieving planned government expenditure.

“In realization of these, the Federal Government has put many initiatives in place to develop the agriculture and solid mineral sectors.

“Broadly, the diversification of the economy through these sectors is among the major components of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this administration. Achieving self-sufficiency in food production and building a globally competitive economy through investment in infrastructure are therefore considered pertinent in the EGRP.

“The Government’s Rice Value Chain initiatives whereby Nigerian Farmers are equipped with improved rice seedlings, fertilizers, and borrowing facilities for production of Nigerian rice is yielding positive results; so also are related initiatives in the production and processing of other crops.

“Further, the government is working towards establishing Agricultural Industrial Parks (AIPs) across our Six-Geopolitical Zones, with the sole aim of creating jobs, ensuring food sufficiency and harnessing the comparative advantage in each geopolitical zone”.

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SERAP is also asking the Federal Government to “disclose details of projects executed with the Abacha loot and their locations, details of companies and contractors involved in the execution of any such projects, details of all the agreements on the loot, the roles played by the World Bank and other actors, as well as the implementation status of all projects since 1999.”

In two Freedom of Information requests sent to Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and Abukabar Malami, SAN, Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, SERAP said: “We are concerned that substantial part of the estimated $5 billion returned Abacha loot since 1999 may have been diverted, re-stolen or mismanaged, and in any case remain unaccounted for.”

In the FoI requests dated 14 February 2020 and signed by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “Publishing the details of projects on which Abacha loot has been spent would allow the public to know the specific projects carried and the areas of the country in which the projects have been implemented as well as the officials that may be responsible for any alleged diversion or mismanagement of the loot.”

According to SERAP: “Getting to the root of the exact amount of the Abacha loot and how the returned funds have been spent is important for the success of the government’s fight against grand corruption and would reassure Nigerians that the government is truly committed to ensuring full accountability for the alleged corruption and mismanagement in the spending of the funds.”

“Any failure or refusal to provide the information requested will be clearly inconsistent with the letter and spirit of the FoI Act. The accountability of government to the general public is a hallmark of modern democratic governance, a norm of human rights and a tool to curb corruption.”

The FoI requests read, in part: “If we have not heard from you within 7 days as stated, SERAP shall take all appropriate legal actions under the FoI Act to compel you to comply with our request. Access to the details sought would allow Nigerians an opportunity to assess the impacts of any projects carried out with the funds.”

“SERAP is concerned that the allegations of corruption and mismanagement involving the use of Abacha loot may be responsible for the increasing level of grand corruption over the years and the entrenched impunity of perpetrators.”

“Publishing details of spending of Abacha loot by successive administrations would also ensure that persons with public responsibilities are answerable to the people for the performance of their duties including the management of Nigeria’s commonwealth.”

“Transparency and accountability enable citizens to have a say about issues such as the spending of returned Abacha loot, that matter to them and a chance to monitor and influence how the funds are spent as well as hold those managing the funds to account in cases of diversion or mismanagement.”

“The government ought to come up with an Abacha loot scoreboard to determine the exact amount stolen and the extent of transparency and accountability of the returned loot since 1999.”

“If there is any indication that any of the recovered Abacha funds have been diverted, re-stolen or mismanaged, for such cases to be immediately referred to appropriate anti-corruption agencies for effective investigation, and prosecution if there is relevant admissible evidence.”

“A scoreboard for the actual amount stolen and the spending of returned loot by each administration since 1999 would encourage more transparency and accountability and ensure that the funds reach the real victims of corruption as well as reduce concerns by Nigerians, the holding states and other partners about the returned loot being diverted, re-stolen or mismanaged.”

“According to our information, a special panel set up on 23 July 1998 by the former head of state General Abdulsalami Abubakar to probe the late military dictator General Sani Abacha stated that he stole over $5 billion between 1993 and 1998 when he was in power. Much of the stolen public funds have been returned to Nigeria.”

“The report by the panel shows that the government recovered some $635 million, £75 million, DM 30 million and N9 billion as well as several vehicles and properties in Abuja, Lagos and Kano together with 40% interests in West African Refinery in Sierra Leone. Other assets were recovered from the Abacha family and associates.”

“Furthermore, former president Olusegun Obasanjo administration also reportedly recovered over $2 billion of Abacha loot. Mr Obasanjo would seem to confirm this fact when he stated in the second volume of his book titled My Watch that: ‘by the time I left office in May 2007, over $2 billion and £100 million had been recovered from the Abacha family abroad, and N10 billion in cash and properties locally.’”

“Similarly, former president Goodluck Jonathan administration reportedly recovered $226.3 million and €7.5 Million from Liechtenstein. Some £22.5 million was also recovered from the Island of Jersey while $322 million and £5.5 million from the Abacha loot were reportedly returned to the government.”

“The government of president Muhammadu Buhari has also recovered several millions of dollars of Abacha loot since assuming office in May 2015, including $321 million from Switzerland, and $300 million from the US and Jersey.”

SERAP therefore urged the Federal Government to:

* Disclose the exact amounts stolen by Abacha, and the total amounts of the recovered loot and all agreements since the return of democracy in 1999;

* Disclose details of the projects executed with the funds, locations of any such projects and the names of companies and contractors that carried out the projects;

* Disclose details of specific roles played by the World Bank and other partners in the execution of any projects funded with Abacha loot since 1999;

* Refer any allegations of corruption involving the execution of projects with Abacha loot to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) for investigation;

* Ensure that anyone involved in alleged corruption in projects executed with Abacha loot is brought to justice if there is relevant and sufficient admissible evidence

“By Section 1 (1) of the Freedom of Information (FoI) Act 2011, SERAP is entitled as of right to request for or gain access to information, including information on the exact amount stolen and spending of returned Abacha loot and related details.”

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Zainab Ahmed, finance minister, disclosed this at the end of the national economic council (NEC) meeting on Thursday.

The meeting was presided over by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo at the council chambers of the presidential villa in Abuja.

Ahmed said the council agreed to constitute a team that would help to finalise modalities to commence repayment of these facility to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

“As at today, the budget support facility advanced by the Federal Government to the states, is a total sum of N614 billion and this is to 35 states,” she said.

“This means an equivalent is N17.5 billion per state. Council agreed to constitute a team of the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF), Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), to finalize modalities to commence repayment of these facility to the Central Bank.”

The minister also disclosed the balances on two special accounts — the stabilisation fund and natural resource development fund.

“The Stabilization Fund Account which has a balance of N21,729 billion and Natural Resource Development Fund which has N95,896 billion,” she said.

Osinbajo had previously spoken on how the current administration had in the last three years gave out close to N1.1trillion to states through loans, bailouts and Paris Club refunds.

He had appealed to the governors to improve their states Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) so as to meet the demands of the N30,000 new minimum wage among others.

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Mrs. Ahmed spoke during a joint briefing with Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Godwin Emefiele and Minister of Budget and National Planning Udoma Udo Udoma on the sidelines of the 2019 IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC.

“There is no plan to remove subsidy now because we have not yet found an alternative package to subsidy. We will not remove subsidy without another social safety net package,” the minister said.

She noted: “One of the issues that always comes up in the report, especially by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) as a corporate body, is how we handle fuel subsidy. In principle, the IMF is saying fuel subsidies are better removed, so that you can use the resources for other important sectors. In principle, that is a fact. But in Nigeria, we don’t have plans to remove fuel subsidy at this time because we have not yet designed buffers that can enable us to remove fuel subsidy and provide cushions for our people.

“So, there is no plan to remove subsidy. We will be discussing with various groups. If we have to, what are the alternatives? We have not yet found viable alternatives. So, we are not yet at the point of removing fuel subsidy. Therefore, every rumour on plans to remove subsidy should be discarded.”

The minister revealed that part of the takeaways from the Spring Meetings was the discussion of additional financing assistance on climate change and power.

In his remarks, Emefiele expressed hope that Nigeria’s economy would lead growth in the African sub-region from the current 1.8 per cent to three per cent, and attain the CBN’s single digit inflation target of between six and nine per cent.

According to him, significant gains have been recorded in terms of financial inclusion, which today is around 64 per cent, close to the 80 per cent target by 2020.

He further allayed the fear of adverse consequences on Nigeria’s economy arising from Brexit discussions. Britain’s trade relationship with Nigeria was not as high as that of China and the United States, he explained.

Udoma said that during talks with officials of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), he asked support for Nigeria’s efforts at leveraging private sector capital to fund critical infrastructure.

“At the State of the African Region, discussions centered on the role of regional cooperation in tackling fragility in Africa. A major takeaway was the need to pay attention to women empowerment and education of the girl child, as these have positive implications in dealing with fragility and reducing conflicts. As you know, investing in our people and the issue of girl-child education are some of the objectives of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan,” said Udoma.

Ahmed’s reassurances came as the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association (PENGASSAN) warned that the advice by the IMF to remove subsidy would destabilise the nation.

The oil workers described a statement on boosting Nigeria’s economy credited to IMF’s media chief for Africa as injurious to the citizenry. It created panic buying, hoarding of petroleum products, and pushed up the prices of goods and services, they said.

The general secretaries of NUPENG Olawale Afolabi and PENGASSAN Okugbawa Lumumba said Sunday that the statement was poisonous and wondered why IMF was still advising the government to inflict more hardship on the people.

“We empathise with them (Nigerian workers) and will not turn blind eyes to any further attempt to increase their pains and impoverish them further. It is quite bewildering and baffling that IMF is not considering the pains and agonies Nigerians went through, even to achieve the acknowledged gains of 2018, with almost two-thirds of the world’s hungriest people among Nigerians,” the secretaries said in a statement.

The Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPRA) meanwhile has allayed the fear of Nigerians of any scarcity of fuel.

In a statement by PPRA Executive Secretary Abdulkadir Saidu, the agency insisted the country has sufficient deposit of petrol to meet demands.

“The agency wishes to assure Nigerians to disregard panic buying as there is adequate product supply in the system to meet the demands of consumers,” it said.

It added: “PPPRA, in line with its mandate to regulate petroleum products supply and distribution as well as establish an industry data bank, has continued to monitor products supply in the sector in line with best practices.

“Thus, PMS average daily supply for the year 2017, 2018 and 2019 are about 46 million, 54 million and 56 million litres respectively. These indicate an improved level of supply in 2019.

“Based on the available data, there is adequate supply of PMS with over 21 days sufficiency. PPPRA therefore urges fuel consumers across the country to desist from panic buying as the agency would continue to monitor the supply situation and take every step required to ensure that there is no disruption in the supply chain.”

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