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FG Can Use New Loan Opportunities to Turn Lives of Nigerians Around
By Joel Popoola
Latest loans can turn an unprecedented crisis into an unprecedented opportunity, and this is if we make sure the money goes to the right place.
We all know the challenges facing Nigeria. But seeing those challenges laid out in black and white still has the power to shock.
This week a report from the International Monetary Fund pulled no punches in its assessment of our nation.
“Half of the student-age population is enrolled in schools.
“Healthy life expectancy is 49 years, placing Nigeria among the bottom six countries in the world.
“Some 54% of the population is connected to an electricity grid that collapses about once a month.
“Roads are in precarious condition.
“Less than four per cent of the population have access to safely managed water.
“Overall, Nigeria’s indicators of human and physical capital are worse than countries with lower GDP per capita.”
The IMF estimates public spending will need to go up by 18% to fix these problems.
As William Shakespeare put it; ‘when troubles come, they come not as single spies but whole battalions’. And these troubles have been compounded by the COVID-19 crisis, which has crippled Nigeria’s economy while demanding extraordinary increases in public spending.
But this crisis has brought with it unparalleled financial assistance too, and not a penny of that assistance should be wasted.
In April, the IMF approved a $3.4 billion package of emergency financial assistance for Nigeria to support the government’s efforts to stabilise our economy in particular in the face of the dramatic slump in world oil prices.
This is likely to be followed by an additional $3 billion dollar loan from the World Bank, which will be used to fund to restart and re-energise our economy.
As I write, the World Bank has also agreed a $750m package of investment aimed at ending power cuts across Nigeria, which are estimated to cost our economy $2.8 billion a year and reduce economic growth by at least 2%.
This is exactly the kind of infrastructural investment I have repeatedly called for. But that investment can only be delivered with transparency and accountability.
It is something of a cliché to say that the Chinese use the same word for ‘crisis’ as ‘opportunity’. But this unprecedented crisis has created an unprecedented opportunity to put Nigerian on the path to a better future.
But based on bitter experiences, many Nigerians may worry that some of these funds will never be used for their intended purposes. Cronyism. Misappropriation. Downright theft. Many of us have a depressing story to tell.
This time things could be different.
The IMF’s mission chief for Nigeria, Amine Mati, has already highlighted what measures the government is taking to enhance transparency and governance of the emergency financing.
These include independent oversight of the spending of the loans and the procurement processes related to that spending, and the publication of procurement plans and notices for all emergency response activities including the names of companies awarded contracts and the owners of those companies.
And most important of all, these reports will be published daily on Nigeria’s treasury website for everyone to see.
Every penny must be accounted for.
As the head of the Digital Democracy campaign, created to use technology to bring people and politics closer together, I welcome these announcements. But we need to go a little further.
Our politicians need to be as transparent and as accountable as these accounts. That’s why we created the free Rate Your Leader app.
The free app puts registered voters in direct person-to-person contact with their local decision makers, forcing them to justify every decision they make and every penny they spend, and making them truly accountable to the people they serve.
And if their voters don’t like the answers they get, they can rate their politicians appropriately for everyone to see.
Generations of underwhelming and underperforming government has brought Nigeria to where we are today. Many Nigerians do not trust their leaders. To many, they are self-interested and self-serving. This is not true in my experience, but like it or not, many think this way.
The first step to addressing that lack of trust is to build better relationships between electors and elected and using the technology you might be reading this on – that can very easily be achieved.
Joel Popoola is a Nigerian tech entrepreneur, digital democracy campaigner and is creator of the free Rate Your Leader app. You can reach him via Joel@rateyourleader.com or @JOPOPOOLA
The Lagos Zonal Directorate 1 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned social media personality and self-acclaimed relationship adviser, Okoro Blessing Nkiruka, before the Federal High Court in Lagos over an alleged N36 million fraud.
Blessing CEO was arraigned on Friday before Justice D.I. Dipeolu on a two-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretence and alleged theft involving N36 million
According to the EFCC, the defendant allegedly obtained the money from one Mrs. Ifeyinwa Nonye Okoye under the pretext of securing a six-bedroom duplex in Lekki, Lagos — a claim prosecutors said she knew to be false.
During proceedings, defence counsel P.I. Nwafor informed the court that the defendant had refunded N24 million to the complainant and requested a short adjournment to allow discussions over the outstanding balance.
“We have an application to make. The defendant approached the nominal complainant and refunded N24 million out of the N36 million.
“We are asking for a short adjournment to resolve the outstanding balance. The nominal complainant agreed that if the balance is paid, they can prevail on the EFCC to drop the case,” the lawyer said.
However, prosecution counsel S.I. Suleiman opposed the request, insisting that the commission was not involved in any private settlement arrangement.
“The complainant here is the Federal Government of Nigeria, and we are here for the arraignment. We urge that the defendant take her plea, as that is the business of the day,” he argued.
Ruling on the matter, Justice Dipeolu held that settlement talks could continue independently but would not stop the arraignment process.
“The defence and the nominal complainant can have discussions even during the pendency of the charge. It does not affect the proceedings before the court. The defendant will take her plea,” the judge ruled.
One of the charges alleged that between July 14 and 17, 2024, Blessing CEO fraudulently obtained N36 million from the complainant over a purported property lease in Lekki.
Another count accused her of unlawfully converting the money to personal use, contrary to provisions of the Criminal Code Act.
She pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Following her plea, the prosecution asked the court to commence trial and remand her in a correctional facility, while the defence requested that she remain in EFCC custody pending bail arrangements.
Justice Dipeolu subsequently ordered that the defendant be remanded in EFCC custody and adjourned the matter to June 5, 2026, for commencement of trial.
Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, has narrated how his principal almost sacked him because of Lagos State House of Assembly member, Desmond Elliot.
He said he almost lost his job during the Lagos Speaker Mudashiru Obasa impeachment saga.
Recall that lawmakers of the Lagos State House of Assembly had said that Obasa was impeached to save the integrity and sanctity of the House of Assembly and Lagos State.
The lawmakers, while jointly addressing journalists at the Assembly Complex, said: “It’s just a change of baton. It is only death that is constant, so change is inevitable.”
However, with President Tinubu against the impeachment, the Speaker was restored and peace returned to the Assembly.
Addressing members of the All Progressives Congress on Thursday, Gbajabiamila said, “I almost lost my job as Chief of Staff last year because of Desmond Elliot. Mr President called me to his house in Abuja during the Lagos Speaker Obasa saga.
“He said, ‘I hear this Desmond is your boy, the one we gave you,’ and I said, ‘Yes, sir. He is one of the people causing problems in the Lagos House of Assembly.’
“Immediately, I told the president that Desmond wasn’t part of them, but the president replied and said that, from the intelligence he received, Desmond was part of them.
“After that meeting, I called Desmond and told him what the president said, and asked him to leave the group if he was part of them. Three days later, the DSS DG called me and said there was a problem.
“He said your name is being mentioned, that you’re the one behind the impeachment saga and that you’re supporting Desmond.
“I spoke to the DSS DG and told him I had spoken to Desmond and he denied being part of the group. I then asked Desmond to make a public statement denying his involvement in the impeachment saga, but till today, he hasn’t done it.”
By Eric Elezuo
The West African Examination Council (WAEC) has announced the kickoff of the 2026 West African Second-term School Certificate Examination, saying it would be computer-based, and decrying the decline of male participation as against their female counterparts.
The Council made the disclosure on Monday, while addressing the media at its National Office in Yaba, Lagos, on steps so far taken to ensure a hitchfree 2026 Examination.
In his address, the Head of National Office, Mr. Jacob Josiah Dangut, remarked that the 2026 computer-based WASSEC, started on April 21, 2026 with practical test papers, stressing that the nitty gritty parts of the exercise will kick off on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, therefore the reason for the sensitization of the Nigerian public on the exams.
He noted that nearly two million candidates registered to sit for the examinations.
In his words, “A total of 1,959,636 candidates from 24,207 schools enrolled for the examination.
“Of this number, 958,564 candidates (48.92%) are male, while 1,001,072 candidates (51.08%) are female. This reflects an increase in female participation and a decline in male participation compared to last year.”
Dangut called on policy formulations to take the matter serious so as to reinvent the urge for education among the malefolks.
Meanwhile, Dangut informed the public that candidates are being tested in 37 subjects across 97 papers, supervised by about 29,000 senior secondary teachers nominated by state ministries of education.
Dangut said the rise in computer-based entries followed the successful debut of the format in 2025, with more schools and offshore institutions adopting it for its efficiency and alignment with global standards.
The 2026 exercise will run through to June 19th.
