The World Bank said the Nigerian government is weak in the area of reducing cost of governance, suggesting a four pronged approach to the issue, while at the same time providing succour to Nigerians.
The Bank’s policy recommendations are contained in its Nigeria Development Update report for October 2024.
Titled, “Staying the Course: Progress Amid Pressing Challenges,” the report assesses recent economic and social developments and prospects in Nigeria, placing them in a long and short term measures.
The World Bank, according to reports from Nairametrics criticized wasteful spending in government,
advising accelerating targeted cash transfers.
The Bank advised that the Nigerian government should among other things cut wasteful expenditures that are not essential, such as the purchase of vehicles and external training,
reduce the cost of collection for MDAs and government-owned entities,
accelerate the rollout of targeted cash transfers and allocate savings from PMS subsidy removal to sustainably expand cash transfers and other well-targeted support.
The report explained that the Nigerian population faces a prolonged rise in the cost of living driven by high inflation, especially for food products, which is outpacing normal earnings growth.
“It is thus essential to ensure that social protection systems offer comprehensive coverage, adequate benefits, and flexibility to adapt to shocks. Ramping up social protection efforts and improving the quality of spending on development priorities is vital to help households cope with the difficult economic situation,” the report added.