The World Bank has approved a fresh $1.25 billion Development Policy Financing (DPF) operation for Nigeria, intended to accelerate private sector investment, expand digital connectivity, and stimulate job creation.
The credit facility is tied directly to the launch of the bank’s new six-year Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Nigeria, spanning 2026 to 2032.
The intervention targets deep structural reforms, yet the timing has reignited fierce domestic debate regarding the rapid expansion of Nigeria’s external debt profile under the current administration.
The $1.25 billion facility, structured under the Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration (NAIJA) programme, represents the second-largest single tranche of World Bank capital secured under President Bola Tinubu, trailing only the $1.5 billion economic transformation facility approved in June 2024.
In a statement on Wednesday, the lender said the NAIJA operation will tie disbursement to legislative and regulatory updates in capital markets, power sector infrastructure, digital economy governance, and trade liberalization.
The World Bank’s leadership emphasizes that while stabilization measures have fortified government balance sheets, structural hurdles continue to deter direct foreign and domestic private capital.
“Our new Country Partnership Framework provides the strategy for how the World Bank Group will support Nigeria over the coming years, with a strong focus on helping to create more and better jobs, particularly by enabling private sector-led growth,” stated Mathew Verghis, World Bank Country Director for Nigeria.
“The recent macroeconomic gains have been critical to help stabilise the economy,” Verghis added.
“Translating improved macroeconomic conditions into better living standards will require addressing the structural constraints to spur private sector investment and job creation.”
The intervention sets ambitious metrics for Nigeria’s baseline infrastructure by 2032, aiming to expand grid and off-grid electricity access to 32 million citizens, provide commercial broadband connectivity to 58 million people, enhance nutritional and health tracking for 40 million people, and offer agricultural inputs to 9.5 million farmers.
The policy framework pushes for aggressive alignment with regional trade treaties, focusing on lowering barriers under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) to help ease intense domestic inflationary pressures.
The multibillion-dollar sign-off has expectedly triggered public criticism within Nigeria as civic groups and economic analysts have repeatedly urged the federal government to curb external borrowing, arguing that rising external debt service obligations have historically failed to translate into visible infrastructure gains or improved living standards for ordinary Nigerians.
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