A report by New Telegraph indicates that Nigeria has so far acquired a total of $1.95 billion in loans from the World Bank in the first four months of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
This followed the data released by the Debt Management Office (DMO), which showed that Nigeria’s total public debt had increased to N87.37 trillion at the end of June 2023. As of June 2022, Nigeria’s public debt stood at N42.84 trillion, a growth of 103.93% year over year.
According to the DMO report, since Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, the World Bank has approved three loans totalling $1.95 billion.
The loans are for education ($700 million), power ($750 million), and women empowerment ($500 million),
For the power project loan, details revealed that on June 19, the federal government secured a $750 million loan from the World Bank to facilitate power projects across the nation.
The loan, with project ID P174622, was approved on June 9, 2023, making it the first World Bank loan approved under Tinubu’s administration.
The global lender said the fresh loan would be additional financing for the power sector recovery performance-based operation.
The World Bank document further disclosed that the new financing would run from 2023 to June 30, 2027.
On June 27, 2023, the World Bank Group announced the approval of a loan of $500 million for women empowerment programmes.
The most recent loan is $700 million, approved in September 2023, to bolster educational opportunities and empowerment for adolescent girls in Nigeria.
