A human rights lawyer and Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Femi Falana, has insisted that the $800 million from the World Bank could only be a grant and not a loan.
Falana made this known in an interview with Channels Television on Thursday.
Recall that the Federal Government plans to distribute N8,000 to 12 million poor households in the country for six months to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy.
But, Falana described the loan from the World Bank as illegal and contravenes the laws in the country, as against the position of the World Bank.
He said, “I didn’t write the law, but I’m saying that under the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, loans can only be procured by Nigeria for the purpose of executing capital projects. There’s no provision for palliative [care] under the law.
“Therefore, the World Bank, just like a local bank, is supposed to take into consideration the provisions of the law in every country. I’m saying the central bank will have to be persuaded by the government.
“If the government goes ahead to regard it as a loan, Nigerians have the right to challenge the illegality of the loan. This has to be in line with the provisions of the constitution, the Central Bank Act, and the Fiscal Responsibility Act,” he said.
Falana, while urging the World Bank to cancel the loan, said, “The world bank has copies of these laws, and they must respect the sovereignty of Nigeria.
“There are situations where the World Bank cancels loans, [and for me] this is one of such situations.”
He also accused the World Bank of supporting the Nigerian government in the removal of fuel subsidy.
“It is the contribution of the World Bank to the campaign for the removal of fuel subsidy. While Nigerians are complaining, the World Bank is lauding the government, and the IMF is praising the government for adopting its own policy.
“On what ground do you want to further problematize the crisis by asking Nigerians to pay a loan?” he said.