Nigerian lawmakers have launched an investigation into the utilisation of a $232 million World Bank loan, alleged to have been mismanaged.
The House of Representatives resolved to probe the loan following a motion moved by Chike Okafor, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), during Thursday’s plenary session.
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ANRiN Project
ANRiN is a 21-year federal government initiative facilitated by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) at the primary health care level.
It adopts a phased approach, running from 2019 to 2040, to reduce chronic malnutrition (stunting and micronutrient deficiencies) and, consequently, maternal and child mortality rates.
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The project aims to increase the utilisation of cost-effective nutrition services for pregnant and lactating women, adolescent girls, and children under five in Abia, Akwa Ibom, Gombe, Kaduna, Kano, Kogi, Kwara, Nasarawa, Niger, Oyo, and Plateau States.
The initial phase ran from 2019 to 2023.
The project is funded by the World Bank as a loan to Nigeria.
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The Motion
In his motion, Mr Okafor stated that the federal government entered into the agreement in 2018 with the expectation of achieving improved nutritional interventions and outcomes by December 2024.
He, however, noted that the project has failed to meet most of the objectives set by the government, adding that it has produced “ineffective outcomes”.
“The programmes so far have been alleged to be ‘water, water everywhere but not a drop to drink’—a beautiful programme for solving malnutrition challenges, but it has appeared to produce miraculous and obviously ineffective outcomes, taking cognisance of the reports and current indicators of Nigeria amidst such a huge and humongous loan from the World Bank,” he said.
Mr Okafor supported his argument with the recently released Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2023/2024, which “indicated a worsening of nutrition specifics, with indices showing an increase in under-five stunting and malnutrition, raising questions about the $232 million spent on nutritional interventions and Nigeria’s poor global ranking.”
When the motion was put to voice vote by Speaker Abbas Tajudeen, it was unanimous.supporter by the lawmakers.
Consequently, the House resolved that its Committees on Nutrition and Food Security, Finance, Aids, Loans and Debt Management, and Judiciary should investigate the loan to ensure there was no mismanagement.
Furthermore, the House directed the committees to invite the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Development, the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, the World Bank, the 12 beneficiary states, and other relevant parties to assist in the investigation.
The committees were given four weeks to conduct the probe and submit a report to the House.
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