Aganga emerges World Bank chairman
By Daniel Idonor

ABUJA—MINISTER of Finance, Mr. Olusegun Aganga,  in Washington D.C. has emerged as the new Chairman of the Board of World Bank and International Monetary Fund, BWIs, after a keenly contested election.

This was just as the World Bank indicated interest to carry out a comprehensive audit of the power sector in the country with a view to finding lasting solution to the power crisis.

The move was a follow-up to the recent parley between Acting President Goodluck Jonathan and top management of the world financial body during his last visit to the United States, US.

Aganga told journalists at the meeting in Washington DC that the new appointment had further demonstrated the important role Nigeria plays in the global economic front.

He said: “As you are aware, Nigeria was elected as the chairman, board of the BWIs for the 2010 during the 2009 annual meeting held in Istanbul, Turkey. I am delighted to inform you that I have since assumed the responsibility of that office.”

The minister said the appointment was “a unique opportunity to serve” noting that such opportunities come once in every 20 to 30 years.

Describing the new role as a huge challenge, Aganga said he will not disappoint Nigeria and the international community that offered him the role under the current global economic recovery stage.

World Bank experts visit Nigeria for power audit

Meantime, a team of World Bank experts would be visiting Nigeria on May 10, 2010 for the exercise that would proffer solution to the power crisis in the country.

Addressing journalists at the World Bank/International Monetary Fund, IMF, 2010 Spring Meeting, in Washington DC, Aganga, who was joined by the Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, said because the issue of power had become central to the nation’s economy, the Federal Government was determined to engage power experts in all the fronts to tackle the problem.

Aganga noted: “The meeting was very fruitful, as the bank stands ready to assist the country. The meeting resolved to have a comprehensive audit of the power sector. A World Bank mission to this effect is envisaged for May 10, 2010.”

He told reporters that the Federal Government power committee had done its audit of the power sector, noting that what the World Bank promised to do with Nigeria was to share their own understanding of the power problem.

“They also have information to share with us and that is what the May 10, 2010 meeting is going to focus on,” the minister said.

Asked what the federal government intended to do to meet the power needs of the over 140 million Nigerians, Aganga said the acting president had assured investors and power experts of creating an enabling environment, that is giving the legal framework, in the sector as well as aligning and identifying investors that will key into the energy sector infrastructure development.

He noted that since financing was not the problem militating against the improvement of the power sector in the country, the government would, this time around concentrate on execution and having a plan that “we will adhere to” as well as ensuring that there was continuity in the entire power arrangement.

Other areas the minister said the World Bank had shown interests to assist the country include ensuring a systematic engagement and consultations on issues relating to agricultural sector.

He said the bank was also supporting ongoing reforms in the banking sector and the proposed Asset Management Company; strengthening the supervisory and regulatory framework for the financial sector and support for the Small and Medium Scale Enterprises, SMEs, in the country.

The minister said the meeting with Oby Ezekwesili, World Bank Vice President, Africa region also provided the opportunity to follow up on wide range of issues discussed with the World Bank Group during the visit of Jonathan mid April.

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2010/04/25/aganga-emerges-world-bank-chairman/

Since the advent of Jonathan and his crew, Nigeria is back to international reckoning!

This is very good for the country. There is Hope people. There is Hope!!

With Aganga as World Bank Chairman, we can be assured of enough leverage when it come to project financing especially in areas of power, rail and road infrastructure.

Are we sure the appointment is not a form of kick back for the Billions of Naira he is pushing Nigeria to borrow?
I do not see the need to borrow with excessive interest where we have lots of fund that are not bearing enough interest, Excess Crude Account, Foreign Reserves.
For Pete sake, we just paid off a huge chunk during Obasanjo regime. Goldman has a reputation for ruining countries, I hope this is not it.

Is this in the same category with UN presidency? Cos WB Presido is the one who wields the highest power and influence .He's appointed by The White House. I hope his new position will benefit Naija

I hope this is all in good spirit and not some secret plot to get Nigeria to begin borrowing a lot and get back into debt that it can't repay. We need to tread carefully because we wouldn't want something similar to a Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) to be forced onto Nigeria. Aganga needs to keep his eyes open.

nobilia:

Are we sure the appointment is not a form of kick back for the Billions of Naira he is pushing Nigeria to borrow?
I do not see the need to borrow with excessive interest where we have lots of fund that are not bearing enough interest, Excess Crude Account, Foreign Reserves.
For Pete sake, we just paid off a huge chunk during Obasanjo regime. Goldman has a reputation for ruining countries, I hope this is not it.

I have to admit, this game is on the high side. The good thing is people are beginning to ask questions. I guess its because of previous experiences.

nobilia:

Are we sure the appointment is not a form of kick back for the Billions of Naira he is pushing Nigeria to borrow?
I do not see the need to borrow with excessive interest where we have lots of fund that are not bearing enough interest, Excess Crude Account, Foreign Reserves.
For Pete sake, we just paid off a huge chunk during Obasanjo regime. Goldman has a reputation for ruining countries, I hope this is not it.

Borrowing is not exactly a problem. The problem usually is whether the borrowed money will be put to good use. The truth is, if we want to play big, especially in infrastructure development, then we have to borrow big. But we must use 100% of the borrowed money for the purpose in which the debt was taken.
What happened in the past was that all the money we borrowed ended up in the pockets of our thieving leaders. If all that money was put to use, by now we would have about adequate infrastructure.

My suggestion would be that we borrow only for power, rail and road infrastructure.

Jonathan should stay clear of borrowing. We have money in external reserve.

The headline is deceiving. From the article, he is NOT the chairman of World bank

naijatoday:

The headline is deceiving. From the article, he is NOT the chairman of World bank

Whatever it is that he is, he is a big man in the bank!!

Hamsters:

Whatever it is that he is, he is a big man in the bank!!

i like this . its d truth anyway,

becomricha:

Jonathan should stay clear of borrowing. We have money in external reserve.

see dis man wey dey talk. how much una get for inside d reserve? were u sleeping wen d bankoles and d yaraduas and d cabals siphoned it? I knw jonathan will be wise enough sha, fingers crossed

LOL, this is one of those fake headlines again that are pervasive on NL

This should be good for Nigeria.I just wonder how he'll combine his job as a Minister and as a World Bank Chairman.

Why is everybody making an issue out of nothing?

If Jonathan borrows money and the money is put to good use vis a vis infrastructural development, then by all means, the dude should command our respect.

UK's net debt is over 160 trillion pounds, so WTF are talking about here?

And people should really stop screaming about external reserves, let's leave it as it should be, a "Reserve", once you start spending into your reserve, it signals your economy is experiencing a real downfall and nobody is willing to lend to you, and even that, is capable of causing real damage to the Naira.

The world bank is going to give him a loan at a rate that is cheaper than what he'd have paid if he tried to raise debt vis a vis bond issues.

If Jonathan borrows money and the money is put to good use vis a vis infrastructural development, then by all means, the dude should command our respect.

CRAP.

What did Jonathan did with $3billion he signed-out just a week after they made him 'acting president'

Money is never put to good use in NIGERIA!

Since the advent of Jonathan and his crew, Nigeria is back to international reckoning!

This is very good for the country. There is Hope people. There is Hope!!

shocking!!

How is this good for Nigeria?

when we Nigerians stop deceving themselves and go after these people thats destroying their lives?

PapaBrowne:

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Aganga told journalists at the meeting in Washington DC that the new appointment had further demonstrated the important role Nigeria plays in the global economic front.

He said: “As you are aware, Nigeria was elected as the chairman, board of the BWIs for the 2010 during the 2009 annual meeting held in Istanbul, Turkey. I am delighted to inform you that I have since assumed the responsibility of that office.”

I guess this is more a Nigerian thing than the man Aganga. . .congrats to him anyways

CRAP.

What did Jonathan did with $3billion he signed-out just a week after they made him 'acting president'

Money is never put to good use in NIGERIA!

and how exactly are you sure the money is not being put to good use?

nobilia:

Are we sure the appointment is not a form of kick back for the Billions of Naira he is pushing Nigeria to borrow?
I do not see the need to borrow with excessive interest where we have lots of fund that are not bearing enough interest, Excess Crude Account, Foreign Reserves.
For Pete sake, we just paid off a huge chunk during Obasanjo regime. Goldman has a reputation for ruining countries, I hope this is not it.

Where do you work?

What qualifications do you have?

It seems you know more about fiscal policies than Aganga, Sanusi  and Babalola put together despite their achievements.

Please let us know how you qualify to know how we should generate capital. Feel free to lecture us on what need you see.

Shock:

and how exactly are you sure the money is not being put to good use?

I think the question should be. . . how are we sure the money is being put to good use. . . there is nothing wrong with borrowing (at the recommended 3% of GDP level). . . . . but we all know that the economic theories around borrowing assumes that the money is being put to good use.

We are yet to see what all the stimuluses that Yara'dua released last year has done for us in terms of infrastructure. . . they should release the outcome of that one first before borrowing again for more spending.

Sagamite:

Where do you work?

What qualifications do you have?

It seems you know more about fiscal policies than Aganga, Sanusi  and Babalola put together despite their achievements.

Please let us know how you qualify to know how we should generate capital. Feel free to lecture us on what need you see.

. Real funny ish, but then again, many of the people who foresaw the US subprime crisis weren't great financial minds either.

World Bank loans are at low interest. You are not going to get rates any lower than you will get with a World Bank loan.

It's the quality of spending that matters most. Nigeria's debt to GDP ratio is quite low so we have ample opportunity to borrow, as oil revenues are insufficient in themselves, to make capital investments.

There is a further issue Nigerians don't understand. It's not the IMF/World Bank loans that damaged Nigeria in the 80s, it was private sector loans to Nigeria. The IMF only comes in when a country is no longer able to obtain loans from the credit market or even if they could, such loans are only available at outrageous rates. In return for an IMF bailout, the IMF will demand that the borrowing country undergoes structural reforms to put the country on a sustainable path to growth. We can debate whether the structural reforms demanded by the IMF is based on sound economics but that is an issue for another day.

Sagamite:

Where do you work?

What qualifications do you have?

It seems you know more about fiscal policies than Aganga, Sanusi  and Babalola put together despite their achievements.

Please let us know how you qualify to know how we should generate capital. Feel free to lecture us on what need you see.

This is flawed reasoning. A bit like saying only footballers should criticise footballers. If there is any field in which 'expertise' is deceptive, it is economics. It's not a science so there is really not much consensus on which policy measure is effective.

How long will Aganga be there before the new government sweeps them all out? Just about a year it seems - I'd advise him to get after the problems on the ground - ensuring how much we are spending NOW is better allocated and monitored for proper use, than worrying about securing further loans that he might never get the chance to ensure proper usage.

^ Thats actually what I was thinking. Its seems everyone's quite receptive towards Jonathan Goodluck which is a good thing considering our bad reputation in the world.

But if Aganga initiates new projects- projects which usually take time to finish- they would end up being a waste of funds since it is unlikely that a new government could further develop such projects.

Shock:

Why is everybody making an issue out of nothing?

If Jonathan borrows money and the money is put to good use vis a vis infrastructural development, then by all means, the dude should command our respect.

UK's net debt is over 160 9 trillion pounds dollars, so WTF are talking about here?

And people should really stop screaming about external reserves, let's leave it as it should be, a "Reserve", once you start spending into your reserve, it signals your economy is experiencing a real downfall and nobody is willing to lend to you, and even that, is capable of causing real damage to the Naira.

The world bank is going to give him a loan at a rate that is cheaper than what he'd have paid if he tried to raise debt vis a vis bond issues.

Are you silly? UK's economy is hanging by a fine thread. It won't be long before the bubble burst and you you'll see your frustrated a.s.s sitting on a bus from Murtala heading back to your village (if you're in the UK).   

A simple analogy is someone living on a credit card. How does he pay back when he’s not earning enough money? Don’t be deceived, if the UK could trade in their situation to that of China, they won’t even have a second thought about it before grabbing the offer!

Naija get people sha, I did not even know that there is someone like Olusegun Aganga before now.

Why are the daftest of the daft amongst us the ones running the country.

Shock:

UK's net debt is over 160 trillion pounds, so WTF are talking about here?

160 trillion pounds?

hehehehe. . . you nor serious.

^^ The guy shocked me too o .
The whole God damned world isn't even worth half that amount, where did he learn maths from ?

Ibime:

160 trillion pounds?

hehehehe. . . you nor serious.

can u all now see if 9jirians shud owe only $2million dollar uk will be the first too start shoutin

Just a thought that came to me as i read this. . , . .

I find it strange that it is mostly citizens of developing nations who get appointed to exalted positions.

I stand corrected but anyone with a different opinion?

OMO IBO:

Just a thought that came to me as i read this. . , . .

I find it strange that it is mostly citizens of developing nations who get appointed to exalted positions.

I stand corrected but anyone with a different opinion?

u are absolutly right omo ibo