The World Bank is poised to approve $632 million in new loans to Nigeria today (Monday), amid growing concerns over the country’s expanding debt profile.
The loans are intended to support important sectors such as nutrition enhancement and quality basic education.
According to data obtained from the World Bank’s website on Sunday, the two loans scheduled to be approved today are $80 million for the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 initiative and $552 million for the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All programme.
Both projects are now in the negotiating phase and are likely to gain final clearance later today.
These new loans are part of the World Bank’s overall strategy to support Nigeria’s development agenda, which focuses on healthcare, education, and community resilience.
The loans will support the government’s efforts to improve nutrition and education for Nigerian children.
Additionally, the World Bank approved a $500 million loan for Nigeria’s Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme on March 28, 2025, a significant step towards addressing the country’s economic challenges through expanded access.
The initiative, formally known as the NIGERIA: Community Action (for) Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme, is intended to give critical support to households impacted by economic downturns while also strengthening community resilience.
The initiative focuses on vulnerable populations, providing assistance to households and small companies to help them cope with economic difficulties.
The loan clearance is likely to considerably boost Nigeria’s efforts to revive the economy through grassroots backing, especially given current issues such as inflation and high living costs.
The stimulus plan will prioritise enhancing food security and developing economic possibilities for the populations most affected by recent economic changes.
This decision came after a delay in distributing funds for a previous loan aimed at poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
Further investigation by The PUNCH revealed that the World Bank disbursed around $315 million to Nigeria from the $800 million allocated for the National Social Safety-net Program Scale Up.
Nigeria is yet to receive further funding from the World Bank for this loan project, which was approved in December 2021. The delay in grant release is most likely due to fraud detected under the initiative.
In honour of the 2023 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty, President Bola Tinubu unveiled a social safety net programme that will distribute N25,000 to 15 million households over the course of three months.
The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation was responsible for managing the $800 million World Bank loan initiative.
However, due to allegations of embezzlement, the federal government was forced to stop the cash transfer program for further investigation and reform.
Betta Edu, a former humanitarian minister, was previously suspended for misappropriating N585 million set aside for palliative care distribution.
Furthermore, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, Edu’s predecessor, was under investigation by the EFCC. The former minister is being investigated for allegedly laundering N37.1 billion during her stint as minister.
The World Bank also imposed sanctions on people and businesses discovered to be engaging in fraud under the initiatives.
According to the World Bank’s official website, this will bring Nigeria’s total approved loans to $9.25 billion over three years, indicating a growing reliance on multilateral funding to support critical sectors of the economy such as infrastructure, healthcare, education, and financial resilience.
A review of Nigeria’s World Bank loan approvals since 2023, under President Bola Tinubu’s government, reveals a huge rise in funding commitments.
In 2023, the World Bank approved $2.7 billion in loans for renewable energy, women’s empowerment, education, and the power sector. In 2024, funding approvals totalled $4.32 billion for various projects.
This increase was largely due to Nigeria’s growing need for financial assistance to stabilise the economy amid fiscal pressures and rising public debt.
Under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, the World Bank granted around 11 different credit projects for Nigeria.
In less than two years, the federal government has acquired loans from the World Bank totalling $7.45 billion, raising concerns about the mounting debt burden. According to data from the Debt Management Office, the World Bank’s portion of Nigeria’s external debt is $17.32 billion as of the third quarter of 2024.
The International Development Association is owing the majority of this debt, which amounts to $16.84 billion, or 39.14 per cent of Nigeria’s total external debt.
The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development, another World Bank subsidiary, is owing $485.08 million, or 1.13 per cent.
While the planned World Bank loans may give much-needed budgetary relief, concerns persist about the country’s mounting debt burden.
According to recent data from the Central Bank of Nigeria, the country has spent $5.47 billion servicing external debt in the last 14 months, underscoring the strain on its foreign reserves.
