The World Bank has stated that its technical advisory and finance to support economic growth in Nigeria today totals more than $15 billion.
This follows the bank’s disclosure that it had invested in sectors such as reliable power and sustainable energy, girls’ education and women’s economic empowerment, climate adaptation and resilience, water and sanitation, and governance reform, according to The Punch.
This development occurred in the context of a fresh loan approval totaling $2.25 billion aimed at reinforcing Nigeria’s economic stability and assisting its disadvantaged communities.
The combined package includes the $1.5 billion Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stability to Enable Transformation Development Policy Financing Program and the $750 million Nigeria Accelerating Resource Mobilization Reforms Programme-for-Results.
Its goal is to increase the country’s non-oil revenue generation while protecting oil revenues, supporting fiscal sustainability, and enabling the delivery of quality public services.
In a story posted on its website on Friday titled, “Turning The Corner: Nigeria’s Ongoing Path of Economic Reforms”, the international lender stated that the nation had turned the corner on reforms that would require all the right partnerships and support to achieve the long-term goal of a prosperous economy where jobs are created, and human development is significantly improved.
The bank also stated that the assistance might serve as an example for the region of how macroeconomic and governance reforms, along with ongoing expenditures in public goods, can accelerate growth and improve the lives of citizens.
The report read, “Since May 2023, Nigeria has embarked on far-reaching and long-overdue reforms aimed at stabilizing the economy and setting the country towards the growth path.
“The Central Bank of Nigeria unified the multiple official exchange rates, fostered a market-determined official rate, cleared the verified foreign exchange backlog, and tightened monetary policy. As a result of the reforms, the supply of foreign exchange has improved, which is good for businesses, consumers, and economic growth.
It added, “The previous, large gap between the official and parallel market exchange rates has also been eliminated, improving transparency and putting a stop to corrupt practices and “round-tripping.
“The government also sharply adjusted gasoline prices to begin to phase out the gasoline subsidy, which had cost the country over N8.6tn (US$22.2bn) from 2019 to 2022 with empirical evidence showing it did not benefit the poor but rather benefitted relatively better off consumers and resulted in large-scale black market and out-smuggling.”
It further said, “As Nigeria pushes forward to attain economic prosperity, the country will need sustained efforts to deliver key public goods for its citizens.
“The World Bank is supporting Nigeria to achieve this with both technical advisory and financing, which stands at over US$15bn in sectors that include reliable power and clean energy, girls’ education and women’s economic empowerment, climate adaptation and resilience, water and sanitation, and governance reforms.”
