President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has appealed to the World Bank to come to the aid of Nigeria as it battles poverty.
Lawan added that Nigeria also needed World Bank intervention as coronavirus was making it difficult to raise revenue for the implementation of the 2020 budget.
The deadly disease has caused over 6,000 deaths worldwide in nearly three months.
NAN reports that the Yobe Senator spoke on Tuesday, when the new World Bank Country Director, Shubham Chaudhuri, visited him in Abuja.
He said: “The World Bank should stand out to come to the aid of Nigeria. Normally you will discuss what the issues are and what the request of the country is.
“We have the issue of power in this country. It is a major issue. Before the security situation deteriorated, our main problem towards achieving our desired development in Nigeria was power.
“I am sure that if we are able to resolve the security challenges we are going through in Nigeria and then fix our power, Nigeria will be a great country,” Lawan said.
The Chairman of the National Assembly stressed that President Muhammadu Buhari’s promise to take out 100 million Nigerians out of poverty in ten years was feasible.
“It is possible because we have the ingredients and we have the friends who will help us. This is where the World Bank is also needed.”
He further declared that Nigeria not only needs money but technical support.
Lawan added that Africa’s most populous country not only require loans and grants but how to apply and deploy resources to achieve goals.
The lawmaker expressed confidence that with World Bank’s assistance, Nigeria will grow bigger.
