News
Nigeria to lose N16billion World Bank credit over faulty audit palaver
In a tragic turn of events, the Federal Government is set to forfeit a whopping $10 million about N16billion, from part of the $103 million fiscal governance and institutions project (FGIP), reports emerged on Tuesday.
The loss of the huge amount, which is a World Bank credit facility is due to audit shortcomings, delays in launching a national budget portal, and slow implementation of a revenue assurance system.
Details of the borrowing of the fund – a public financial management initiative financed through a credit facility from the International Development Association, a lending arm of the global institution are contained in the World Bank’s June 2025 restructuring paper addressed to the federal ministry of finance (FMF), which also informed that the fund is scheduled to close on June 30.
“The FMF has requested cancellation of $0.9 million of unused funds for Technical Assistance (TA) and $9.5 million, which is the amount allocated to 10 performance-based conditions (PBCs) which will not be achieved by the close of the project on June 30, 2025,” the document reads.
Among the cancelled items is a $4 million audit of key revenue-generating agencies — the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) — which was deemed substandard by the global bank.
It further stated: “These intermediate results (IRs) to be implemented by the OAuGF were assessed as not achieved by the independent verification agent (IVA) because the reports submitted for verification did not meet the requisite international auditing standards.
“Deployment of a National Budget Portal to publish the capital budgets of the FGN and at least 20 states by the BOF, with an allocation of $1 million. The BOF did not submit evidence of achievement for the IR.
“Implementation of the Revenue Assurance and Billing System (RABS), with an allocation of $4.5 million. Two IRs – 2.5 and 2.6 – were submitted for verification but were assessed in IVA report 6 as not achieved.
“This was because there was evidence for only 27 out of the 55 FGOEs setting up a Treasury Single Account (TSA) sub-account for foreign earned revenues, and there was no automatic split and transfer of foreign earned revenues to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF) as required.
“The remaining IRs 2.7-2.9 will not be achieved before the Project closes because of delays due to: (i) Contract management issues: the FMF is in the process of expanding the RABS implementation consortium to include another vendor, (ii) pending finalization of the indemnity letter requested by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from the FMF to ensure that the CBN is not liable for any potential errors arising from the automatic transfers of funds from the TSA sub-accounts of FGOEs to the CRF.
“Given these delays, RABS implementation is expected to be completed in August 2025, which will be after FGIP closes.”
However, regardless the missed opportunity, the document stated, the FGIP recorded progress in other areas, including revenue performance, adding that non-oil revenue outturn was 153 percent of the budgeted target in 2024, up from a baseline of 64.9 percent in 2018.
The bank, which attributed the increase to Nigeria’s exchange rate unification policy, improved tax administration via the TaxProMax system, and reforms that automated revenue remittances from ministries and agencies, said the capital expenditure execution remains below expectations at 50 percent, short of the 65 percent target.
The World Bank said the country exceeded expectations in publishing reconciled economic and fiscal datasets, achieving 10 publications against the project target of six, but stressed that project monitoring and evaluation were rated as “moderately unsatisfactory” by the global bank.
Other areas of progress include the launch of the electronic register of beneficial owners by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), which now covers about 40 percent of registered businesses, the publication of a national asset registry, and financial reports by the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI).
The World Bank said the final disbursement on the project is estimated at $96.04 million, which represents 93 percent of the pre-cancellation total of $103 million.
It was another day of misery in Kwara State, when daredevil terrorists reportedly stormed Yashikira Community in Baruten Local Government Area of Kwara State, and as has been the case in many of the attacks, abducting scores of residents including women and children.
But, apparently to register their authority, the gunmen, who were said to have operated for hours without challenge from the security operatives, were said to have torched the palace of the Emir.
The attackers, which reportedly occurred late Sunday night were said to have announced their presence through heavy firing and after storming the palace of the monarch during the period, set it on fire before whisking away their victims, but a similar attempt at the police station in the community, was repelled.
While some of the residents, narrated how the spent hours without resistance, leaving behind destruction and fear in the border community, another account said the villagers were caught unawares as the gunmen invaded the town under the cover of darkness.
However operatives made up of the police and military personnel, were said to have launched a manhunt immediately for the immediate rescue of the victims, including throwing a cordon in the area as part of the mission.
“The suspect offered ₦500 million to the SPU commander in an attempt to make the team stand down and allow him to contact his associates to move the consignment elsewhere. The offer was rejected immediately and properly documented for further investigation.”
These were the exact words of Olohundare Jimoh Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG), with which he detailed how operatives of the Zone 2 Command of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) scoffed at a N500million bribe to turn their eyes off the importation of a huge consignment of drugs imported into the country.
This was part of the details of a major breakthrough by the operatives after bursting a major drug trafficking syndicate in Lagos, which led to the seizure of suspected illicit drugs estimated at ₦7.8 billion and arresting several suspects, including the alleged kingpin.
In the operation, reportedly carried out by officers of the Special Protection Unit (SPU) in collaboration with divisional police detectives, the operatives, were said to have stormed a house in Mende, Maryland area of Lagos, following months of surveillance and intelligence gathering coordinated by the Zone 2 Headquarters.
The recovered drugs consisted of hundreds of bags of suspected Canadian Loud, allegedly stored in the residence of the prime suspect, Jimoh, said disclosing that the suspect was apprehended on May 19 after weeks of strategic monitoring by operatives.
Offering further details, he said the operation was executed with technical support and guidance from the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, alongside coordinated efforts between the SPU and divisional police teams.
Jimoh revealed that during the operation, the suspect allegedly attempted to bribe the SPU commander with ₦500 million to compromise the mission and allow the movement of the drug consignment.
The AIG described the development as a reflection of the renewed professionalism and operational discipline being entrenched in the Force under the current policing strategy.
He noted that the success of the operation underscored the importance of deploying specialized police units alongside conventional divisional teams in tackling organized crime.
According to him, the operation demonstrated the effectiveness of rapid containment strategies, intelligence-led policing, and professional conduct among the operatives involved in the raid.
“Rapid containment was achieved as the Special Protection Unit worked with divisional teams to secure the perimeter and prevent escape or interference with evidence.
“The operation was intelligence-driven, following months of surveillance and technical monitoring before the raid was carried out.
“The immediate rejection and documentation of the bribe attempt also reflect the standard expected from redeployed personnel at the divisional level,” Jimoh added.
Reacting to the development, the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Olatunji Disu, commended the operatives for their professionalism, saying the success of the operation validated the ongoing redeployment of personnel to divisions and units across Lagos and Ogun states.
The IGP noted: “Policing must be close to the people, and our specialized units must work side by side with divisional teams on the ground.
“The professionalism shown by the SPU commander in rejecting a ₦500 million bribe and following due procedure is the standard we expect. It shows that when you put your best foot forward at the grassroots, you get results and restore public trust.”
Disu further assured that the Force leadership would continue to reward integrity while holding officers accountable to the highest ethical standards.
Police authorities said exhibits recovered during the operation have been properly documented and will be tendered in court. The suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue to track down other members of the drug trafficking network.
Slavery is a wound on the memory of the Universal Church, Pope Leo XIV, said on Monday, as he issued a fresh apology over the participation of the the Catholic Church in the centuries-long delay in condemning slavery.
The pontiff stressed the position of the church after his predecessors had offered similar apologies, said: “For this, in the name of the Church, I sincerely ask for pardon.”
Writing in a major text that warned about “new forms of slavery” behind the digital economy, the joined John Paul II, who denounced slave trade in 1992 before issuing a sweeping request for forgiveness for historical injustices in 2000 and Pope Francis who also repeatedly denounced contemporary forms of slavery.
In his own vein, Pope Leo, pointed out that the Church owned slaves until the Middle Ages and it also advised European sovereigns on how to justify the enslavement of “infidels.”
He stressed in “Magnifica Humanitas” (Magnificent Humanity), a document focused primarily on the rise of artificial intelligence, that it was only in the 19th century that “a formal, absolute and universal condemnation of slavery was clearly articulated.”
Hear him: “It is true that past events cannot be judged anachronistically, as though the moral criteria that matured over time had always been available. Yet neither can we deny or diminish the delay with which both society and the Church came to denounce the scourge of slavery. This constitutes a wound in Christian memory, one from which we cannot consider ourselves detached.”
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