ABUJA (Reuters) – Nigeria has secured $800 million from the World Bank to scale up its national social program ahead of the removal of its costly but popular subsidies on petrol in June, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said on Wednesday.
Africa’s biggest economy set aside 3.36 trillion naira ($7.3 billion) this year to spend on the subsidy until mid-2023, after which it has made no provision for the expense, which cost more than its spending on healthcare and education.
Ahmed said the government was considering some palliative to ease the pain of the subsidy removal including cash transfers to the most vulnerable segment of the population and mass transit buses for workers.
(Reporting by Felix Onuah; Writing by Chijioke Ohuocha; Editing by Jan Harvey and Mark Porter)
