Tanko Mohammed
In addition to the $11.465 billion credit received this year from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Bank has again approved a $1.5 billion package to help Nigeria build a resilient post-COVID-19 recovery.
The latest credit from the World Bank is for state-level intervention in Nigeria has caused a spike in external and internal debt which now stands at over $86 billion.
In addition, the multilateral institution, has discussed a new five-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) from 2021 to 2024 for Nigeria.
The $1.5 billion was part of a $3 billion loan request Nigeria had been pushing for, the bank said on December 15, 2020, reflecting that the nation was in a critical situation, especially as Nigeria’s revenues are predicted to fall by $15 billion.
The expected dip in revenue, the bank reasoned could push an additional five million Nigerians into poverty in 2020.
The new credit is to finance Nigeria’s COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus – Programme for Results (Nigeria CARES), a programme designed to help increase access to social transfers and basic services.
It would also enable the federal government to provide grants to poor and vulnerable households and strengthen food supply chains for poor households while facilitating recovery and enhancing capabilities of enterprises.
This year alone, the Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cumulatively extended about $11.465 billion credit to Nigeria.
IMF in April released $3.4 billion to the government under the Rapid Financing Instrument which Nigeria applied for in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic while the World Bank in May released $176 million of additional financing for the Strengthening, Recovery and Peace building in the Northeast.
To boost states capacity for covid-19 response, on August 7 the World Bank Board of Directors approved $114.28 million financing to help Nigeria prevent, detect and respond to the threat posed by COVID-19 with a specific focus on state level responses.
This includes $100 million credit from the International Development Association (IDA) and $14.28 million grant from the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility.
“World Bank help to countries with coronavirus, the International Finance Corporation (IFC) used its fast-track COVID-19 facility for Nigeria to help small and medium-sized enterprises in several sectors that face working-capital or trade-finance challenges through a combined $200 million loan to FCMB, Access and Zenith banks.
The World Bank also in February approved six projects to support Nigeria’s development priorities; the projects were Immunization Plus and Malaria Progress by Accelerating Coverage and Transforming Services through IDA credit valued at $650 million.
The others were the Nigeria Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project, co-financed through an IDA credit of $280 million, $230 million from the French Development Agency, and $65million from the Government of Nigeria.
The Nigeria Digital Identification for Development Project is another project by the World Bank and co-financed through an IDA credit of $115 million, $100 million from the French Development Agency, and $215 million from the European Investment Bank.
The other February projects are the Ogun State Economic Transformation Project, financed through an IDA credit of $250 million and Innovation Development and Effectiveness in the Acquisition of Skills Project, financed through an IDA credit of $200 million.
