Nigeria’s $2.25 billion World Bank loan is expected in June

• Nigeria’s request for a $2.25 billion loan will be reviewed and approved by the World Bank in June 2024, the finance ministry announced on Monday

By Ken Ibenne

The financing is divided into two parts: $750 million for the Program-for-Results Financing and $1.5 billion for Development Policy Financing.

The information was released by the ministry in a statement that the head of information and public relations, Mohammed Manga, signed.

One of Nigeria’s main takeaways from the recently finished 2024 spring meetings of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) was the availability of what he dubbed a “free lunch,” according to Wale Edun, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, who made the announcement over the weekend in Washington.

The finance minister stated, “We anticipate that the World Bank Board will convene in June 2024 to discuss the ultimate approval of this financing package.”

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However, the minister revealed the information during a press conference held outside of the spring meetings, stating that the credit had already been accepted by the World Bank board of directors and was presently being processed.

He said that the facility offers a 40-year term with a 10-year moratorium at a 1% interest rate, calling it “virtually a grant.”

“We met the requirements to be considered for the processing of the $2.25 billion package of what, if free lunches exist at all, is the closest thing to free money that we have just presented to the World Bank Board of Directors this week.”

“It is essentially a grant. It has a 10-year moratorium, a 40-year duration, and 1% interest. Thus, you can count that as part of the flow as well,” according to Edun.

Edun, who headed Nigeria’s delegation, demonstrated the country’s economic resiliency and tactical approach to international issues during the Spring Meetings.