Minister of Women Affairs, Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, has accused the previous administration under President Muhammadu Buhari of misusing the initial $100 million of a $500 million World Bank loan intended for women’s empowerment.
Ohanenye stated that Buhari’s government squandered the $100 million on meetings, advocacy, and consultancy, during an interview with Arise News on Monday.
The World Bank approved the $500 million loan for Nigeria on June 27, 2023, aimed at improving the livelihood of women.
Ohanenye praised President Bola Tinubu for his proactive involvement in the project and his scrutiny of the initial $100 million expenditure.
She emphasized that the funds were a loan, not a grant, highlighting the need for proper management to ensure repayment.
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In her words; “About the Nigeria for Women Project, let me first tell Nigerian women to clap for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who came in after the first $100 million had been expended. That was when he came in and when he came in, he looked at it with me and we were not satisfied with how the $100 million was used.
“Let me make it clear. This is not a grant, it is a loan and when some monies are loans, they must have to be managed well so that the loans can be paid back. If you don’t manage it well, how do we pay back the loan?
“And when money is a loan, we expect whoever you are giving loan to be allowed to utilise that loan properly in a way that it can yield back the money to be paid, so that Nigeria will not continue owing.
“The first 100 million, when I came in, I was not satisfied. It didn’t augur well with the vision of the new President’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
“It was mainly used for advocacy, meetings, consultancies and that was it. They shared it among the states.” She added.
