Nigeria accesses $1.04bn from World Bank in 13 years

Nigeria accessed up to $1.040 billion, $80 million each year, between 2000 and 2013 from the World Bank, with an additional $1.7 billion
projected borrowing from the bank in 2014.

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, coordinating minister for the economy and minister of finance, said on Monday that the financing showed rapid buildup in the bank’s assistance for the country on an annual basis.

She announced this on Monday at the launch of the World Bank new Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) aimed at helping the federal and state governments boost development.

The new CPS which covers the period of FY2014- 2017 introduces a change in the country’s borrowing status. Nigeria has been declared credit worthy for IBRD financing and officially entered blend status from July 1, 2014.

This means Nigeria can access World Bank Group funds through the International Development Association (IDA) and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD).

The launching event was to make the objectives and outcomes of the strategy known to all beneficiaries, including the federal and state government officials, the MDAs (federal and state), media, civil society organisations (CSOs), the private sector, academics, researchers, professionals and other stakeholders.

The new strategy’s endorsement comes at an opportune time just as Nigeria is redoubling its efforts to tackle critical development challenges and is committing itself to lift major constraints that are hindering it from achieving broad-based, inclusive economic growth and poverty reduction goals.

Okonjo-Iweala said the bank’s four years Country Partnership Strategy support has so far helped government to pursue its transformation agenda as she hoped that the new one will even help government to create jobs, especially as unemployment and growing inequality remained challenges to the development of the economy.

“This country strategy paper supports our objectives. It supports what the president has launched as the transformation agenda and goes beyond that to work with the individual states. That is one of the most attractive things because you know that almost 50 percent of our resources are spent in the states,” she said.

The strategy includes support for a bold and ambitious programme of development targets and interventions for the next four years, specifically around three strategic priorities which includes promoting growth and job creation by reforming the power sector, enhancing agricultural productivity, and increasing access to finance.

The strategy will also assist to improve the quality and efficiency of social service delivery at the state level to promote social inclusion as well as strengthen governance and public sector management, with gender equity.

The coordinating minister particularly noted that the new strategy will support the power sector, infrastructure, agriculture and other sectors which are capable of driving the required jobs in the country.