EXTRA: Minister fails to recall states benefitting from $500m World Bank project

Uju Kennedy-Ohanenye, minister of women affairs, could not list the six pilot states where a $500 million World Bank project will be implemented.

Kennedy-Ohanenye was a guest on Arise TV on Monday, where she accused the past administration of mismanaging the first tranche of the loan.

The initiative dubbed Nigeria for Women Project (NFWP) is a strategic engagement between the World Bank and the Nigerian government to improve the livelihoods of the nation’s women.

NFWP was initially approved on June 27, 2018 with $100m financing. However, in June 2023, the World Bank approved a $500 million scale-up.

The bank said the scale-up will help to ensure better economic opportunities for women and guarantee better education, health, and nutrition outcomes for families; while building the resilience of women and communities to climate change.

Kennedy-Ohanenye said the previous administration “lavished” the fund on meetings, advocacies, and consultancies.

“Fortunately, President Tinubu quickly made me raise a new structure on how that money will be utilised,” she said.

The minister asked women to applaud Tinubu who was not satisfied because the previous outcomes did not align with his ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda.

“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,” she said.

“It was mainly used for advocacy, meetings, consultancies and that was it. They shared it among the states.

“But remember the project is called ‘Nigeria for women project’ and to me, the way I understand it, it was supposed to be used for projects.”

The minister assured that on her watch, allocations would be equitable across states.

Asked to reel out the six states where the implementation of the project will kick off, she said: “I will mention few because I don’t really know all of it…

“The six states are Niger, Abia…,” she began, before she was interrupted by Reuben Abati, one of the hosts of the show.

“You don’t know the six states where you are having the programme?” Abati asked.

“I don’t know all,” the minister responded, before stuttering on.

“Listen to me, my dear brother, please…

“The six states is not the issue to me. All the states is what I am focusing on.”

The six pilot states for the project are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Kebbi, Niger, Ogun and Taraba — with one state representing a geopolitical zone.