The World Bank and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are expected to provide the federal government with a new $2.2 billion single-digit interest loan and another budget assistance facility, respectively.
Following Nigeria’s participation in the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, DC, the Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, revealed this information during a press briefing.
Speaking about the sources of foreign finance for the Nigerian economy, Edun mentioned facilities provided by the World Bank and other international development partners, as well as remittances from the diaspora and foreign portfolio investments.
He declared, “We have met the requirements to submit a complete package worth $2.25 billion—roughly a grant—to the World Bank Board of Directors this week. This is the closest thing to getting a free lunch.” It is for a moratorium of roughly ten to twenty years and one percent interest.
Furthermore, the African Development Bank (AfDB) provides comparable fiscal support in the form of low-interest funding, and continuous conversations with foreign direct investors are evident in a number of different sectors.
As an additional strategy to draw foreign exchange inflows into Nigeria, Edun also considered issuing dollar-denominated securities with a specified target audience of Nigerians living abroad and those having foreign-denominated savings in Nigeria.
He stated that later this year, the federal government intended to issue the bonds.
He emphasized the efforts made by the fiscal sector of the economy to support the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) recent monetary policy adjustments.
According to him, the issuance of government securities at interest rates that are more in line with the CBN’s Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) is a sign that the country’s two main economic sectors are working together to combat inflation and draw foreign investment.
He mentioned that one area the Bola Tinubu administration was hoping to boost growth in the medium term was the agricultural sector, mentioning that initiatives in that area included distributing seeds and fertilizers to lower food prices and improve food security.
The minister also mentioned other programs that would increase power generation to roughly 6,000 megawatts in six months, provide housing and other infrastructure so that Nigerians could obtain low-interest mortgages, restructure the social investment program, and propose an economic stabilization plan.