Nigeria's minister of finance, budget and national planning, Zainab Ahmed, has denied rumors that the government was seeking a massive loan of $800 million from the World Bank.

A letter issued by President Muhammadu Buhari last Thursday, asking "the Senate to kindly approve an 'additional' loan facility to the tune of $8OO million to be secured from the World Bank for the National Social Safety Net Program" had led to outrage among Nigerians, who thought the country was applying for another loan, This Day reported.

However, the finance minister said in a statement issued on Sunday that this was the same loan Nigeria had secured from the World Bank last month to help 50 million poor Nigerians.

"The news story is not correct," Ahmed said, according to AllAfrica. "This is the same loan that the Honorable Minister had explained on several occasions that the $800 million facility the country recently got from the World Bank for post-petrol subsidy removal palliative was awaiting parliamentary approval for the federal government to commence disbursement."

She explained that the government was not seeking another loan for the pending fuel subsidy removal

"It will be recalled that the facility would be deployed to provide succor to 10 million households, who are expected to get N5,000 each for six months," she added. "The initial duration of the palliatives meant to cushion the effects of the planned subsidy removal on vulnerable Nigerians was for six months, but would be reviewed upon extensive consultation with stakeholders."

The statement further mentioned that the "$800 million has been negotiated and approved by the Federal Executive Council and we now have a request before the parliament for approval."

She further explained once the parliament approves the request, the next administration will decide how the funds will be utilized.

"We've also been doing preparatory work side by side along the approval process. This includes expanding the committee to include members of the transition team of the President-elect," she concluded. "The process will include the verification of the social register which will be used for electronic transfers of the funds."

President Buhari will step down from his position later this month and the former governor of Lagos State, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, will take over the position of the president, after the inauguration on May 29.

Considering the World Bank's position on Nigeria, the international organization has previously warned the country regarding fiscal and debt pressures.

A report published in April revealed that the number of Nigerians living below the poverty line will increase by 13 million between 2019 and 2025 in the baseline projection.

The World Bank advised the government to work on its macroeconomic stability through various reforms, such as "increase oil and non-oil revenues, tighten monetary policies to reduce inflation, unify the multiple FX windows, and adopt a single, market-responsive exchange rate."

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