The Nigerian Government has declared it’s intention to obtain a $3.5 billion loan from the World Bank and the Africa Development Bank (ADB). It hopes to use the money in part to fund over N900b in budget deficits. To however collect a loan from the World Bank, the IMF will need to approve Nigeria’s economic policies and request for stricter ones which might include a devaluation of the Naira.
In an apparent rebuke to the Minister of Finance for even thinking of requesting for this loan, Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN), has warned the government against taking the loan listing alternative sources of funding that can earn Nigeria about $66.5 billion. These are the sources according to an article in the Punch,
Underpaid taxes and royalties
According to him, part of the said $66.5bn was the sum of $20.2bn in form of underpayment/underassessment of taxes, royalties, levies and rents, which a former Executive Secretary of the National Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, called on the Federal Government to recover.
Bailouts
Falana also recalled that there was about $11bn which the Central Bank of Nigeria injected into the banking industry between 2006 and 2008 as bailout to commercial banks, which had yet to be recovered.
NNPC
Besides these, Falana also recalled that the Federal Government had on September 6, 2015 announced that the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation was in the process of recovering the sum of $9.6bn in “over deducted tax benefits from joint venture partners on major capital projects and the legacy OPA/SWAP oil contracts.”
Abacha Loot
He also made reference to the $750m of the late Gen. Sani Abacha’s loot, which the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), said arrangements had been concluded on it to recover.
AMCON
Finally, he also recalled that the a recent probe by the Senate revealed that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria had accumulated about $25bn which, according to AMCON’s Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru, was owed by “big men who fly in private jets, live in big mansions and they have taken money and they are not paying back.”
