The Nigerian government is seeking a fresh $1.25 billion loan facility from the World Bank under a new reform programme designed to expand access to finance, digital services, and electricity, while advancing tax, trade, and agricultural reforms.
The proposed facility, titled Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration, is structured as a Development Policy Financing (DPF) operation, with the Federal Republic of Nigeria as borrower and the Federal Ministry of Finance serving as the implementing agency.
According to the World Bank’s Programme Information Document, the proposed approval date for the loan is June 26, 2026. The Bank said the review stage had already authorised the team to proceed with appraisal and negotiations after incorporating guidance and receiving legal evidence confirming that prior reform actions had been met.
The World Bank stated that the programme is aimed at supporting the government’s efforts to widen access to finance, digital and electricity services, while boosting competitiveness through reforms in taxation, trade, and agriculture.
The financing, designed as a standalone DPF operation, is expected to support Nigeria’s transition from macroeconomic stabilisation to inclusive economic growth and job creation.
“The proposed Development Policy Financing supports reforms initiated by the Government aimed at pivoting from stabilisation to inclusive growth and job creation. The $1.25 billion standalone operation builds on recent progress in restoring stability and underpins the Government’s shift toward an inclusive growth model,” the document stated.
The Bank noted that the programme aligns with Nigeria’s long-term ambition of achieving 7 per cent economic growth driven by the private sector, with the government playing a facilitative role.
Under the first pillar of the programme, reforms will focus on improving access to finance, digital services, and electricity. This includes support for the Investment and Securities Act 2025, operationalisation of credit enhancement facilities, implementation of the National Digital Economy and E-Governance Bill, adoption of a national metering framework, and greater private sector participation in interconnected mini-grids.
The second pillar targets competitiveness through reforms in trade, taxation, and agriculture. Planned measures include reducing trade barriers, strengthening seed supply systems, introducing VAT e-invoicing, and implementing a minimum effective corporate tax rate.
According to the World Bank, Nigeria has undertaken major economic reforms since 2023, including the removal of petrol subsidies, unification of the foreign exchange market, discontinuation of central bank deficit financing, and improvements in revenue administration.
The Bank stated that these reforms had helped restore macroeconomic stability, improve government revenues, narrow fiscal deficits, reduce debt pressures, strengthen external reserves, mitigate foreign exchange volatility, and enhance investor confidence.
However, the institution warned that Nigeria has yet to achieve a strong and inclusive growth trajectory. It noted that economic growth remains modest, with per capita income growth still below 2 per cent, and approximately 63 per cent of Nigerians — representing more than 139 million people — remained in poverty as of 2025.
The document also identified shallow financial intermediation, weak market competition, high trade barriers, low-productivity agriculture, infrastructure deficits in power, transport and digital connectivity, as well as governance weaknesses, as key constraints to faster economic growth.
Despite the reform progress, the World Bank classified the overall risk of the proposed operation as “high,” citing political and governance concerns ahead of the 2027 general elections, vulnerability to oil price shocks, inflationary pressures linked to prolonged Middle East tensions, possible setbacks in revenue reforms, election-related spending risks, weak inter-agency coordination, fiduciary concerns, and potential social backlash from trade reforms.
The proposed $1.25 billion facility comes after approximately $9.35 billion in World Bank loan approvals secured by the administration of Bola Tinubu between June 2023 and May 2026.
If approved, the latest deal would raise total World Bank approvals under the current administration to about $10.6 billion.
The facility would also rank as the second-largest single World Bank loan approved for Nigeria under President Tinubu, behind the $1.5 billion Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation Development Policy Financing approved in June 2024.
Meanwhile, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Babatunde Ogunjimi, recently warned that Nigeria could decline or withdraw from World Bank loan arrangements if approval and disbursement processes continue to experience prolonged delays.
Ogunjimi stressed that the funds being sought were loans rather than grants, arguing that Nigeria, as a responsible borrower, deserved timely consideration and processing of its funding requests.
He also urged the World Bank to accelerate approval procedures and ensure the prompt release of funds intended to support Nigeria’s development priorities.
