International lender, the World Bank, is expected to meet and approve a $500 million loan to Nigeria on Friday to boost rural access and agricultural marketing in the country.
This is according to information received on Thursday from the Washington-based institution.
World Bank a decision on the loan application is expected by the Nigerian Government on Friday, 13, 2024.
The Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project – Scale Up is designed to bridge the gap between communities and the wider market in Nigeria.
A key prerequisite for participating in the project is that local authorities have a fully functional Road Fund and Road Agency, with appointed boards and staff and provisions for administrative costs in the state budget.
The document noted: “While the eligibility for state participation in RAAMP required the development and submission of Road Fund and Road Agency projects to the State Legislative Assembly, the new project will require states to have a fully operational Road Fund and Road Agency with appointed Boards and staff, as well as provision for administrative costs. In addition, the RARAs provide an opportunity to promote women’s representation in the transport sector.
If the loan is approved by the World Bank, it will be the 10th loan project by the institution under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 16 months up to
As a result, the loan amount may increase following the recent approval of three new loans worth N1.57 billion dollars from the World Bank for several projects in Nigeria.
Available data shows that in the past five years, Nigeria has received at least 35 loan approvals from the World Bank, totaling $24.088 billion.
These are electricity credits: $750 million; women’s empowerment: $500 million; girls’ education, $700 million; renewable energy; $750 million; economic stabilization reforms; $1.5 billion; and resource mobilization reforms; $750 million.
This comes after Nigeria’s debt reached $134.3 trillion at the end of June. The country’s debt is expected to grow to N134.3 trillion by the time all borrowings from 2024 are accounted for
Recall that former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo, denounced the country’s rising debt profile, noting that it poses a major problem for current and future generations.
Similarly, economists like Muda Yusuf, director general of the Center for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, have also sounded the alarm over Nigeria’s rising debt against a backdrop of infrastructural deficit.
