Nigeria Seeks $1.5bn Loan from World Bank
The Federal Government of Nigeria is in the process of obtaining $1.5 billion in budget support from the World Bank, according to the finance minister, amidst rising public debt.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, hinted about the development in Marrakech, at the ongoing World Bank/International Monetary Fund (IMF) Annual Meetings.
Edun also stated that President Bola Tinubu will not breach statutory limits in obtaining budget support facilities from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) through the Ways and Means Advances.
He said that Tinubu was committed to “keeping with the spirit and the letter” of the autonomy of the CBN. By obtaining more than N22.7 trillion in Ways and Means Advances from the apex bank.
“The country was discussing with the World Bank for a 1.5 billion dollar budget support. The World Bank is the number one development bank that helps developing countries fund their projects and programmes.
“We are happy that the funding will come in soon. World Bank money is the cheapest,” he said. The minister said that the government was also concerned about financing.
“About one trillion dollars is needed to meet the target of climate change globally. This is a climate financing fund which is relatively cheap. There is also a commitment to help Africa and the third world with climate transition because they are not responsible for climate change in any substantial way.
“One of the ways to help them is through climate financing and we will be looking at green bonds and more climate financing options,” he said. Edun said the country has taken bold and courageous steps to attract investments.
“Regarding the opportunity to attract investments, there have been many conversations and, in all honesty, the narrative is that with the bold courageous steps that Nigeria has taken, we are now at the forefront, almost number one on people’s list when they want to look at where to invest; that is now the narrative.
“Nigeria is definitely on the right path; we have taken the right decision for the economy to recover and for it to attract Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and as well, I will add, domestic investment to recover full economic growth, job creation and at the same time, achieve inclusivity of women and young people,” he added. Nigeria Seeks $1.5bn Loan from World Bank Investors Stake N653bn on Nigerian Sukuk -DMO
