Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Femi Falana has described the $800 million palliatives loan from the World Bank as illegal and contravenes Nigeria’s law.
The human rights lawyer insisted that the $800 could only be a grant and not a loan.
Wakadaily reports that the Nigerian Government plans to distribute N8,000 palliatives to 12 million poor households in the country for six months to cushion the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy.
However, speaking in a recent interview with Channels Television, SAN Femi Falana described the loan from the World Bank as illegal and contravenes the laws in the country.
The father of popular Nigerian singer and rapper, Falz said: “I didn’t write the law, but I’m saying that unde the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, loans can only be procured by Nigeria for the purpose of executing capital projects. There’s no provision for palliative [care] under the law.
“Therefore, the World Bank, just like a local bank, is supposed to take into consideration the provisions of the law in every country. I’m saying the central bank will have to be persuaded by the government.
“If the government goes ahead to regard it as a loan, Nigerians have the right to challenge the illegality of the loan. This has to be in line with the provisions of the constitution, the Central Bank Act, and the Fiscal Responsibility Act.”
While urging the World Bank to cancel the loan, he said, “The world bank has copies of these laws, and they must respect the sovereignty of Nigeria.
“There are situations where the World Bank cancels loans, [and for me] this is one of such situations.”
Femi Falana slammed the World Bank for supporting the Nigerian government in the removal of fuel subsidy.
The human rights lawyer said: “It is the contribution of the World Bank to the campaign for the removal of fuel subsidy. While Nigerians are complaining, the World Bank is lauding the government, and the IMF is praising the government for adopting its own policy.
“On what ground do you want to further problematize the crisis by asking Nigerians to pay a loan?”.
