Nigeria Edges Closer To $1.5b World Bank Loan

According to reports by Bloomberg, Nigeria is in the final stages of negotiating a loan from the World Bank.

Eko Hot Blog gathered that Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed on Friday confirmed this. She said that Nigeria is in the final stages of closing the deal.

The lender’s board will discuss the total $1.5 billion loan package in their next meeting and possibly approve the request, Zainab said. Africa’s most populous country is also considering joining the G20 debt initiative and is talking to its commercial lenders to get their buy-in.

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“We will consider joining if the conditions are favorable for us,” she said.

The $1.5b loan is expected to further increase Nigeria’s debt profile, which is almost going through the roof at this time, with outstanding loans further exacerbating an economy which has just entered into its second recession in five years.

It also raises further question marks on the President Buhari led Government which has incurred a long list of debts since assumption of office in 2015.