By Hauwau Shehu Maikeffi
As Nigeria continues to wrestle with a suffocating debt burden and rising public discontent over living conditions, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has thrown a weighty challenge to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu: reject the recently approved $1.08 billion loan from the World Bank and instead fix the gaping holes in the country’s public financial management.
In a letter addressed to the President and released over the weekend, the organization urged Tinubu to instruct the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), as well as relevant anti-corruption agencies, to swiftly investigate allegations that more than N233 billion in public funds have either been diverted, mismanaged, or remain unaccounted for—particularly by the Nigerian Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET), Abuja, and other ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
The loan in question, part of a broader initiative to boost Nigeria’s power sector and climate resilience efforts, was recently greenlit by the World Bank. It forms part of the federal government’s move to secure external funding for key infrastructural and energy sector reforms. But for SERAP, it raises a deeper issue: how can a nation justify borrowing to finance development while allegedly bleeding internally through unchecked financial leakages?
“The Tinubu administration has a legal responsibility to ensure transparency and accountability in the management of public funds and projects. Approving more loans while failing to recover missing funds or hold those responsible accountable will continue to fuel public distrust and worsen the country’s fiscal crisis,” SERAP said.
NBET was created to play a stabilizing role in Nigeria’s troubled power sector by purchasing electricity from generation companies and reselling to distribution companies. However, over the years, the sector has faced allegations of opaque transactions, over-invoicing, and mysterious shortfalls in remittances.
A recent report by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation revealed questionable transactions and discrepancies in NBET’s financial statements—issues SERAP says can no longer be ignored in a nation teetering on the edge of economic collapse.
Nigeria’s public debt stock hit N97.34 trillion by the end of 2023, according to the Debt Management Office. While the government defends its borrowing strategy as essential for development, critics argue that the funds often disappear into the void of bureaucracy, leaving citizens with little to show and a mountain of interest to pay.
The World Bank loan includes $750 million for the Power Sector Recovery Performance-Based Operation and $328 million for renewable energy and clean cooking initiatives. But without transparency in how previous funds were utilized, SERAP argues, this could be more fuel to an already raging fire.
SERAP’s demand is more than a call for fiscal prudence—it’s a test of the Tinubu administration’s commitment to the anti-corruption narrative it campaigned on. Will the president act? Or will this become another ignored call drowned in political convenience?
What remains clear is that Nigerians are watching closely. With inflation at record highs, power supply erratic, and trust in institutions thinning, the margin for governance errors is narrow.
As the nation stands at yet another crossroads, the question isn’t whether Nigeria should borrow but whether it can afford to borrow without plugging the leakages first.
