The World Bank has finally disbursed about $299.99 million to Nigeria out of the $800 million approved for the National Social Safety Net Program-Scale Up.
This is according to information obtained from the World Bank, with a source in the bank confirming to TheWitness that the disbursement was made recently.
According to information from the Bretton Woods institution, with about 37.5% of the entire loan disbursed, there is a pending balance of about $442.88 million.
In October 2023, President Bola Tinubu formally launched the promised conditional cash transfer programme targeted at 15 million households nationwide billed to receive N75,000 within three months.
TheWitness also learnt that the Federal Government is currently seeking the services of a consulting firm to help with the upgrade of the system for the cash transfer programme.
Information obtained from the World Bank read,
This upgrade is necessary as the National Economic Council (NEC) decided earlier not to use the social register from the previous administration of Muhammadu Buhari for running the conditional cash transfer program due to credibility issues.
The financing agreement document for the National Social Safety Net Program-Scale Up between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the International Development Association (IDA) of the World Bank showed that the repayment will be made in installments, with the first payment due on January 15, 2027, and the last payment due on July 15, 2051.
While the first payment will be 1.65% of the principal amount, the last payment will be 3.40%.
