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World Bank Exposes $32 Million Missing from Nigeria’s Water Project Funds

Published by Tope Fakinlede on November 17th, 2024.

World Bank Exposes $32 Million Missing from Nigeria’s Water Project Funds

The World Bank has revealed that $32 million in funds allocated for Nigeria’s water infrastructure project has gone unaccounted for. The discovery was made in the bank’s FY2024 Sanctions System Annual Report, which highlights issues of financial mismanagement.

According to the report, the missing funds were designated to support water infrastructure development in Nigeria but were not properly tracked, raising concerns about the project’s integrity. In response to the findings, the World Bank’s Integrity Unit (INT) flagged the issue and alerted the relevant operations teams.

“To address the situation, the World Bank worked closely with the project team, including Nigeria’s task team leader, financial management experts, and operations managers, to investigate and recover the missing funds,” the report stated.

The World Bank has recommended that the Central Bank of Nigeria reimburse $22 million of the missing amount, while $6 million will remain in the project account to cover projected operational costs.