Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Mr Wale Edun
World Bank approves fresh $2.2bn loan for Nigeria, says finance minister
The federal government is set to secure a new $2.2 billion loan from the World Bank at single-digit interest rates, alongside another budgetary support facility from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
Wale Edun, the Minister of Finance, announced this during a press briefing after Nigeria participated in the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C.
Edun outlined various sources of international funding for Nigeria’s economy, including diaspora remittances, foreign portfolio investments, and support from international development partners like the World Bank.
He revealed that Nigeria had qualified for a $2.25 billion package from the World Bank, which he described as almost akin to a grant. The package had a moratorium period of 10 to 20 years and an interest rate of about one percent.
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Additionally, Edun mentioned low-interest funding from the AfDB and ongoing discussions with foreign direct investors across multiple sectors.
Edun also discussed plans to issue dollar-denominated securities targeted at Nigerians in the diaspora and those holding foreign-denominated savings in Nigeria. The government aims to attract foreign exchange inflows into the country by issuing these bonds later in the year.
Highlighting collaborative efforts between fiscal and monetary policies, Edun noted that issuing government securities at interest rates closer to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) addressed inflation and attracted foreign exchange inflows.
The minister outlined various initiatives under the Bola Tinubu administration to stimulate growth, including boosting the agricultural sector by distributing fertilizers and seeds to reduce food prices and enhance food security.
Other initiatives include increasing power generation to 6,000 megawatts within six months, improving infrastructure, particularly housing, to make low-interest mortgages available, revitalizing the social investment program, and proposing an economic stabilization plan.
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