NIGERIA’S debt to the World Bank has risen by over $1.3bn within the last year to a total of $9.81bn as of September 2019 according to the latest statistics from the Debt Management Office (DMO) as a result of increased borrowing.
According to data published yesterday, the World Bank Group’s subsidiaries, the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA) increased their lending to Nigeria over recent years. The IBRD lends to governments of middle-income and creditworthy low-income countries while the IDA provides concessionary loans, called credits and grants to governments of the poorest countries.
Nigeria’s debt to the IDA and IBRD stood at $9.41bn and $409.51m as of September 30, 2019, compared with $8.39bn and $1.24m in September 30, 2018, according to the DMO. In total, the amount of loans approved by the World Bank for Nigeria reached $24.68bn because as of December 31, 2019, Nigeria had secured $7.14bn worth of loans from the IBRD and $17.54bn loans from the IDA.
However, the IBRD and IDA cancelled $971.04m and $1.77bn respectively of the approved loans. Consequently, a total of $16.89bn had been disbursed to the country, with $5.72bn from the IBRD and $11.17bn from the IDA.
Nigeria has, however, repaid a total of $6.45bn to both institutions with $5.29bn going to the IBRD and $1.16bn being paid to the IDA. These loans, many of which are still being disbursed, were approved for 177 projects in the country, with the first loan secured in 1947.
In November 2019, $75m was approved for the Second Africa Higher Education Centres of Excellence for Development Impact project. In 2018, $27.4m was approved for the North Core/Dorsale Nord Regional Power Interconnector Project, $125m for the Fiscal Governance and Institutions Project, $225m for the Nigeria Accelerating Nutrition Results, $150m for the Polio Eradication Support Project and $100m for the Nigeria for Women Project.
Other projects for which loans were approved in 2018 were the States’ Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability ($750m), Nigeria Electrification Project ($350m), NG-Electricity Transmission Project ($486m) and Nigeria Erosion and Watershed Management Project ($400m). In 2017, $611m was approved for Better Education Service Delivery for All, while $159m was approved for the Nigeria: Mineral Sector Support for Economic Diversification Project.
A total of $90m was approved for the Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement Phase II, $200m for the Multi-Sectoral Crisis Recovery Project for North Eastern Nigeria and $200m for the Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Improvement Support Project.
