Tag: WORLD BANK

FG secures $500m World Bank loan to boost DisCos

Aminu Imam
W'Bank loan

The Federal Government has secured $500million loan from the World Bank to improve electricity Distribution Companies (DisCos) performance. This was disclosed in a press statement issued yesterday by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE)’s Head, Public Communication, Amina Tukur Othman. She said, approved on February 4, 2021, by the World Bank Board of Directors, this funding supports the Nigerian Distribution Sector Recovery Program (DISREP) aimed at improving the financial and technical performance of the DisCos. The Distribution Sector Recovery Programme, (DISREP), said the Head of Public Communications, is designed to…

Read More

World Bank blacklists 58 Nigerian companies, individuals over corruption

Aminu Imam
World Bank

The World Bank has blacklisted 58 Nigerian companies and individuals for engaging in corrupt practices, a move it says is part of the institution’s on-going efforts to uphold integrity and transparency in its projects and operations. Among those affected are 39 Nigerian companies previously debarred by the African Development Bank (AfDB), along with 19 individuals identified by the World Bank under the cross-debarment policy. The total number of debarments now stands at 58, rendering the implicated entities ineligible to participate in projects and operations financed by institutions of the World…

Read More

Nigeria set to receive fresh $2.2bn World Bank loan – Edun

Aminu Imam
9ja map green

The Federal Government is set to receive around $2.2 billion single-digit interest loan from the World Bank and another budget support facility from the African Development Bank, (AfDB). Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, disclosed this during a press briefing at the end of Nigeria’s activities at the World Bank/International Monetary Fund, (IMF) Spring meeting in Washington DC, the United States on Saturday. Speaking on the sources of international funding to the Nigerian economy, Edun listed diaspora remittances, foreign portfolio investments, and facilities from the World Bank and other international development…

Read More

“Internet exposure reduced Nigeria’s poverty by 7%” – World Bank

Aminu Imam

The World Bank has disclosed that improved access to internet over three years led to a seven per cent reduction in extreme poverty in Nigeria. In a new brief, titled: “Digital transformation drives development in Africa”, the World Bank noted that the exposure has also led to an eight per cent increase in labour force participation and wage employment. “In 2023, a World Bank flagship report found that in Nigeria and Tanzania, extreme poverty declined by about seven per cent after three or more years of exposure to internet coverage,…

Read More

Competitive Industrial Performance Index: Forex restriction places Nigeria on low ranking – World Bank

Aminu Imam

Nigeria ranked 97 out of 153 countries in 2023 on the Competitive Industrial Performance Index, partly because of the government’s foreign exchange (FX) access restrictions and import bans, according to the World Bank. This was revealed in its latest Nigeria Development Update for December 2023, titled: ‘Turning the corner: From reforms & renewed Hope’. The report, produced bi-annually, assesses immediate economic developments and prospects in Nigeria. The report said: “While the FX restrictions did not explicitly prohibit importing the 43 categories of goods on the restriction list, they created a…

Read More

2024: World Bank predicts insecurity, economic hardship, others in some Northern States

Aminu Imam

The World Bank has forecasted that persistent insecurity, armed conflict, and worsening livelihoods will continue to affect local government areas in Borno, Kaduna, Katsina, Sokoto, Yobe, Zamfara States, and the far north of Adamawa State until May, 2024. According to the World Bank, poor macro-economic conditions are restricting access to agricultural inputs in the affected States, and that it is set to affect cereal production in the country. The global bank, in its latest ‘Food Security Update’, issued on Wednesday, stated that estimated cereal production for the 2023/24 crop year is expected…

Read More

‘World Bank an enemy of Nigeria’ – NLC

Aminu Imam

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has labelled the World Bank an enemy of the country after the financial institution asked the Federal Government to stop the subsidy payment on petrol and raise the cost of the product to N750/litre. In a statement issued on Thursday, Ajaero said, in part: “It is truly a shame that the World Bank has really shown itself to be an enemy of the Nigerian nation. Its continued grandstanding and generation of anti-poor policies and programmes have destabilized many countries of the South, especially nations within…

Read More

World Bank N750 per litre advise to Nigeria shows it is an enemy of the people – NLC

Abdul-Azeez Ahmed Kadir

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has condemned the advice by the World Bank to the Federal Government to increase petrol prices to N750 per litre . Mr Joe Ajaero, NLC President, said this on Friday in Abuja in a statement, titled; “World Bank’s N750 per litre for premium motor spirit is a threat to Nigerians economy”. It would be recalled that the World Bank Lead Economist for Nigeria, Mr Alex Sienaert, offered the advice recently during a presentation of the Nigeria Development Update, Dec. 2023 edition. The economist had noted…

Read More

“It’s time Nigeria moved from reforms to results” – World Bank

Aminu Imam

Having applauded several reforms by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the World Bank on Wednesday urged the government to take a bold step forward by moving from reforms to results. The Bank stated this in its December 2023 edition of the Nigeria Development Update (NDU), titled: ‘Turning the Cor­ner’. The latest NDU report by the bank recommends specific actions required to further sustain and achieve the full benefits of reforms already embarked on by the government. From the year 2024 and the years after it, the bank advised Nigeria to im­prove…

Read More

‘NNPCL not transparent on subsidy, dollar revenues’ – W’Bank

Aminu Imam

The World Bank has said the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL) is not transparent about the financial gains from fuel subsidy removal, disclosed. The Washington-based made this call in its Nigeria Development Update, December 2023 edition, titled, ‘Turning the Corner (from reforms and renewed hope, to results)”. This extends to subsidy arrears that are still being deducted and the impact of subsidy removal on federation revenues, the bank noted. Recall that the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Wale Edun, recently revealed that the Government was ready…

Read More