CISLAC urges IMF, World Bank to demand accountability in COVID-19 spending

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has written a letter to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank not to let down their guards but ensure that Nigerian government adhere strictly to principles of transparency and accountability in disbursing the various amounts of money to combat the coronavirus.

CISLAC observed that the public health and economic emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic presents Nigeria and the world with a challenge unparalleled to any other in the living memory of most.

“It is evident that Nigeria is poorly equipped to fight the COVID-19 pandemic if significant community transmission occurs.

“Nigeria’s healthcare system cannot cope with the population of over 200 million even at the best of times.

“There are only seven testing labs and only one ventilator for 400,000 Nigerians. The low capacity of the healthcare system is further underscored by only 50 hospital beds per 1000 persons,” it said.

The letter was signed by Executive Director, CISLAC/Transparency International Nigeria, Auwal Ibrahim Musa and addressed to IMF Mission Chief/Senior Resident Representative, Amine Mati and World Bank Country Director, Mr. Shubham Chaudhuri.
The letter read in part: “In my capacity of the Executive Director of CISLAC/ Transparency International in Nigeria, I deeply appreciate the scale, speed and flexibility of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) response to this crisis.

“The IMF Executive Board is currently considering a request from the Nigerian government to receive financial assistance under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument facility.

“If approved, these funds will be essential in financing the COVID-19 response initiatives recently announced by the Government of Nigeria such as food distribution, cash transfers, loan repayment waivers and the expansion of the social register from 2.6 million households to 3.6 million households.

“With an increased influx of money, however, come increased risks of corruption. As tens of millions of Nigerians under the poverty threshold are locked down and unable to feed themselves and their wards, we cannot afford waste due to fraud and corruption.

“Three global civil society organisations – Transparency International, Human Rights Watch and Global Witness – have recently proposed key transparency and anti-corruption measures in the IMF’s response to the COVID-19 crisis.

“We join this call and appeal to the IMF, the World Bank and other development partners and the private sector to highlight the importance of transparency and integrity in their engagement with the Government of Nigeria. We underscore that the crisis cannot weaken its prior commitments to anti-corruption.”