The World Bank is set to approve fresh loans totalling $632m to Nigeria today (Monday) amid mounting concerns over the country’s rising debt profile,
The loans are to support critical areas, including nutrition improvement and quality basic education.
Information obtained from the World Bank’s website on Sunday showed that the two loans expected to be approved today include $80m for the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria 2.0 project and $552m for the HOPE for Quality Basic Education for All programme.
Both projects are currently in the negotiation stage and are expected to receive final approval later today. These new loans form part of a broader strategy by the World Bank to support Nigeria’s development agenda, focusing on healthcare, education, and community resilience.
The loans are expected to boost the government’s efforts to improve nutrition outcomes and enhance access to quality education for Nigerian children.
Meanwhile, the World Bank had already approved a $500m loan to Nigeria last Friday to support the country’s Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme.
The approval, which took place on March 28, 2025, marked a significant step towards addressing Nigeria’s economic challenges through expanded access to livelihood support, food security services, and grants for poor and vulnerable households and firms.
The programme, officially titled the NIGERIA: Community Action (for) Resilience and Economic Stimulus Programme, is designed to provide essential support to households affected by economic downturns and bolster community resilience.
The initiative targets vulnerable populations by offering grants to households and small businesses to mitigate the economic hardships they face.
The loan approval is expected to significantly enhance Nigeria’s efforts to stimulate the economy through grassroots support, particularly amid ongoing challenges such as inflation and high living costs. The stimulus package will focus on improving food security and creating economic opportunities for communities hardest hit by recent economic fluctuations.
This approval occurred amid a delay in releasing funds for a previous loan targeted at poor and vulnerable Nigerians.
Further checks by The PUNCH showed that the World Bank disbursed to Nigeria about $315m out of the $800m approved for the National Social Safety-Net Program Scale Up.
For over a year, Nigeria has yet to get any further funds from the World Bank on this loan project, which was approved in December 2021. The delay in funds disbursement is likely linked to the issues of fraud detected under the programme.
President Bola Tinubu launched a social safety net programme that will distribute N25,000 to 15 million homes for three months in observance of the 2023 International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation was tasked with carrying out the $800m World Bank loan project.
However, the Federal Government had to suspend the cash transfer programme for further investigation and revamping following alleged misappropriations within the programme.
Former humanitarian minister, Betta Edu, was earlier suspended due to the misappropriation of N585m earmarked for palliative distribution.
Also, Edu’s predecessor, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, was being investigated by the EFCC. The ex-minister is being probed over an alleged laundering of N37.1bn during her tenure as a minister.
The World Bank also issued sanctions to individuals and businesses found committing fraud under the programmes.
Earlier, The PUNCH reported that the Federal Government would likely secure six new loans totalling $2.23bn from the World Bank in 2025 as the international financial institution continues to support the country’s economic and structural reforms.
Data from the World Bank’s official website indicates that this will bring Nigeria’s total approved loans to $9.25bn over three years, reflecting a growing reliance on multilateral funding to support critical sectors of the economy, including infrastructure, healthcare, education, and economic resilience.
An analysis of Nigeria’s loan approvals from the World Bank since 2023 under the administration of President Bola Tinubu shows a significant increase in funding commitments.
In 2023, the World Bank approved loans amounting to $2.7bn, which primarily targeted projects in renewable energy, women’s empowerment, education, and the power sector.
The funding approvals recorded in 2024 significantly surpassed those of the previous year, with a total of $4.32bn allocated to various projects. This increase was largely due to Nigeria’s growing need for financial assistance to stabilise the economy amid mounting fiscal pressures and rising public debt.