The World Bank has provided the Federal Government with substantial funding totaling $2.25 billion. The foreign lender declared that two major financial operations intended to benefit Nigeria’s disadvantaged communities and strengthen its economic stability had been approved.
The $1.5 billion Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilization to Enable Transformation Development Policy Financing Program and the $750 million Nigeria Accelerating Resource Mobilization Reforms Program-for-Results make up the combined package, which has a total estimated value of $2.25 billion, the bank said in a statement on Thursday.
Nigeria’s urgent efforts to stabilize its economy are expected to receive immediate financial and technical support from this inflow of funds.
It also aims to enhance the country’s non-oil revenue generation and safeguard oil revenues, thereby promoting fiscal sustainability and enabling the delivery of quality public services.
The statement from the bank read, “The World Bank has today approved two operations: $1.5 billion for the Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation Development Policy Financing Program and $750 million for the Nigeria Accelerating Resource Mobilisation Reforms Programme-for-Results.
“This combined $2.25 billion package provides immediate financial and technical support to Nigeria’s urgent efforts to stabilize the economy and scale up support to the poor and most economically at risk. It further supports Nigeria’s ambitious, multi-year effort to raise non-oil revenues and safeguard oil revenues to promote fiscal sustainability and provide sufficient resources to deliver quality public services.”
Bizwatch Nigeria revealed last month that the World Bank was planning to provide the government with new loan funds; on June 13, 2024, approval for loans amounting to $2.25 billion was anticipated.
During the World Bank and IMF spring meetings last month, the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, declared that the country was eligible to receive a $2.25 billion loan from the World Bank at an interest rate of 1%. The loan was described as “virtually a grant.”
The package, which has been authorized by the World Bank Board of Directors, has a nominal interest rate of 1% and a 40-year period with a 10-year moratorium.
He stated, “We have qualified for the processing just this week to the Board of Directors of the World Bank of a total package of $2.25bn of what you can call ‘the closest you can get to a free lunch’- virtually a grant. It’s for about 10- 20 years moratorium and about one per cent interest.”
