In December the Nigerian House of Representatives declared a $300 million loan from the World Bank invalid, because the National Assembly had not been consulted before the government began negotiations for the loan. The Debt Management Act requires that all loans taken out by the federal government be ratified by the National Assembly. The loan was due to commence in November 2009. The assembly members advised the government to follow due process if it wished to pursue the loan. The World Bank has previously been strongly censured for failing to subject its plans to proper parliamentary scrutiny (see Update 46).