Six Areas, Projects That Will Drain $1.5bn World Bank Loan To Nigeria

The $1.5 billion the Federal Government is set to receive from the World Bank will be spent on four areas and two specific projects in five years, which is the tenor period of the loan. The loan was sourced from three international financial groups.

Areas The Loan Will Be Disbursed To

AllNews gathered that the $1.5 billion will be splitted and disbursed into;

• Investing in human capital.
• Promoting jobs.
• Economic transformation and diversification, enhancing resilience and;
• Strengthening the foundations of the public sector.

It was learnt that the project mentioned below will receive $750 million facility through the International Development Association (IDA).

• Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus – Program for Results (Nigeria CARES).
• The State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability Program for Results (SFTAS) Additional Financing.

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World Bank Tell Nigeria To Pursue Bold Reforms

While commenting on the loan, World Bank country director for Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri, said that it is in line with the country partnership framework (CPF) that will last from 2021 to 2024. During the timeframe, World Bank said Nigeria must pursue some bold reforms.

Recall that the World Bank had delayed the approval of the $1.5 billion loan in the second and third quarter of this year, requesting more currency reform from Nigeria in order to access the loan. It also stated that the country should make tangible progress on key challenges.

“This country partnership framework will guide our engagement for the next five years in supporting the government of Nigeria’s strategic priorities by taking a phased and adaptive approach.” Chaudhuri said.

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Chaudhuri added that, “To realize its long-term potential, the country has to make tangible progress on key challenges and pursue some bold reforms. Our engagement will focus on supporting Nigeria’s efforts to reduce poverty and promote sustained private sector-led growth.”

Participating Financial Institutions

As earlier stated, the $1.5 billion loan was sourced from three international financial institutions; the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).