World Bank Support FG. subsidy removal and the exchange rate unification.

World Bank has thrown its weight in support of the Federal Government’s subsidy removal and the exchange rate unification.

This comes weeks after President Bola Tinubu’s inaugural speech on subsidy removal and the need to unify Nigeria’s exchange rate.

Speaking at an event organised by the World Bank to assess the nation’s economy in the last six months, Country Director, Dr Subham Chadhuri, explained that the policy though painful remains key to rebuilding the economy of the nation.

Mr Chadhuri, however, advocated measures that will reduce the impact on the people going forward.

Also speaking, a lead economist at the World Bank, Alex Seinart, said the removal of the fuel subsidy is projected to achieve estimated fiscal gains of about 3.9 trillion Naira in 2023.

The gains according to him are expected to reach over 21 trillion naira between 2023 to 2025.

Meanwhile, Special Adviser to the President on Monetary policy, Wale Edun, World Bank has approved a fresh $500 million loan for Nigeria to help improve the livelihood of women in Nigeria.

Speaking further on the subsidy removal World Bank says Nigeria’s government will save a total of N11 trillion from the recent petrol subsidy removal policy.

However, the financial body said more people would be pushed into poverty in Nigeria if the government does not provide palliatives to alleviate the effect of the recently implemented reforms.

In its latest report Nigeria Development Update (NDU), the Bretton Woods institution said over four million people were pushed into poverty between January and May 2023.

The bank, in the report, titled ‘Seizing the Opportunity’, said it is important for the country to implement a comprehensive reform package that encompasses a range of complementary measures, including a new social compact to protect the poor and most vulnerable, to maximize the collective impact on growth, job creation, and poverty reduction.