Nigeria receives $8.5 billion from the World Bank to address critical issues

The World Bank has provided Nigeria with $8.5 billion in assistance to address some critical issues confronting the country.

The international financial institution stated that it is now up to Nigeria to channel the fund to either provide financial resources to enable young Nigerians to attend school or to use the funds to subsidize petrol with over N6.5 trillion.

The donation was confirmed on Thursday during an Emergency Coordination Center summit in Abuja.

Shubham Chaudhuri, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, stated at the event that the amount given to Nigeria was the largest of any country. He added that it was still insignificant in comparison to Nigeria's needs, but emphasized that approximately $2.5 billion to $3 billion of the funds had been channelled towards education.

"In Nigeria, half of the population is under the age of 17. This implies that investments in human capital development are required, according to Chaudhuri.

He stated that the future of Nigeria was dependent on the ability of young people to attend school, emphasizing the importance of making schools safe so that fewer children were absent.

According to the sources, stakeholders are concerned about the state of the country. Seeing Africa's most populous country raise N6.7 trillion for fuel subsidies at the expense of education and health.

The education ministry stated that approximately 10.1 million children are absent from school, but a report suggests that the figure is closer to 18.5 million.

Analysts have characterized Nigeria's insistence on subsidies as financial indiscipline, noting that it would harm the Nigerian economy.