The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors on Wednesday approved a $600m loan for Nigeria.
This is coming almost few weeks after the managing Director of the bank and Nigeria’s former minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina visited Nigerian and made the assurance.
The loan is meant to help Nigeria plug its budget deficit as the nation grapples with its first recession in more than 20 years.
The $600m loan is the first tranche of a total $1bn budget support package, according to a Reuters report quoting a senior bank official.
The second disbursement of $400m would be dependent upon the implementation of reforms and expected early next year, the bank’s Nigeria country director Ousmane Dore, said
Adesina, had on September 26 said the bank was working on giving Nigeria loan facilities of $4.1bn between now and next year for critical sectors of the economy.
The loans include $1bn at a concessionary interest rate of 1.2 per cent for Nigeria to address the 2016 budget deficit and aid her economic recovery.
According to the AfDB president, the package includes $1bn in budget support; $300m to create jobs for 185,000 youths; $250m towards infrastructure development in the North-East; $1m grant to deal with challenges of Internally Displaced Persons; $300m for infrastructure development around Abuja, and $200m for the Transmission Company of Nigeria to improve its facilities, among others.
He said, “I think the times are difficult but I want to commend the government for being bold in taking the right decisions.”
“ I think that the fact that the price of crude oil has gone down is a big challenge, because you have 98 per cent external forex revenue coming from the sector.
