The Federal government of Nigeria through the minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed has announced the suspension of the $22.7bn loan plan.

This loan has caused several uproar and critic from the public since its announcement.

Zainab  made the announcement at the 2020 International Conference on the Nigerian commodity market held in Abuja on 16th March 2020.

She stated that the government is working hard to diversify the economy.

The Minister revealed that the current realities in the global economic landscape influenced the decision.

The Minister said;

“The current market indices do not support any external borrowings at the moment, despite that the parliament is still doing its work on the borrowing plan.

“One arm of the parliament has completed their work, and the other arm is still working. So, it is a process controlled entirely by the parliament itself.

We are waiting. 

“The expenditures that are not critical must be deferred to a later date when things become more normal.

“Several national plans, programmes and projects have been directed at diversifying the production and revenue structures of the economy.

The loan  was meant to be used to fund the Nigeria Electricity Transmission.

And Access Project Social Inclusion and Welfare Advancement project.