The World Bank has approved a fresh $1.25bn loan for Nigeria under its ‘Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration programme’, amid public concerns over the country’s rising debt burden and repeated calls for the Federal Government to reduce external borrowing.
The approval was announced in a statement issued by the World Bank yesterday alongside the launch of a new ‘Country Partnership Framework for Nigeria’ covering 2026 to 2032.
The bank said the new framework would guide its support for Nigeria over the next six years, with a focus on creating jobs by unlocking private sector-led growth.
“The World Bank Group has endorsed a new Country Partnership Framework for Nigeria spanning 2026–2032, setting out a strategy to create more and better jobs at scale by unlocking private sector-led growth”, the statement read.
It added that the bank had “also approved the Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration Development Policy Financing operation, which supports Nigeria’s transition toward a more inclusive growth model that spurs growth and creates jobs”.
The approval comes weeks after public criticism followed reports that the Federal Government was seeking a fresh $1.25bn World Bank facility to support economic reforms, job creation and competitiveness. Many Nigerians argued that the country’s growing external debt had yet to translate into improved living standards.
According to the World Bank, the new Country Partnership Framework builds on Nigeria’s recent macroeconomic reforms, which it said had resulted in stronger economic growth, higher government revenues, increased external reserves and improved investor confidence.
It said the framework aims to expand electricity access to 32 million Nigerians, provide broadband connectivity to 58 million people, improve health and nutrition services for 40 million citizens and support 9.5 million farmers. It also seeks to strengthen human capital, boost agricultural productivity and expand access to energy and digital infrastructure.
The World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, said the institution would focus on helping Nigeria convert recent macroeconomic gains into improved living standards.
The bank said the $1.25bn Development Policy Financing operation would support reforms aimed at strengthening Nigeria’s competitiveness and creating conditions for sustainable growth.
According to the statement, the reforms include deepening capital markets, modernising the regulatory framework for the digital economy and e-governance, advancing power sector reforms to accelerate electrification, lowering trade barriers in line with Nigeria’s commitments under the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the African Continental Free Trade Area (AcFTA), improving access to quality agricultural seeds and strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation.
The latest approval is the second-largest single World Bank facility secured by Nigeria under President Bola Tinubu, after the $1.5bn Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation Development Policy Financing approved in June 2024.
According to figures released by the Debt Management Office (DMOM, Nigeria’s debt to the World Bank rose from $17.81bn at the end of 2024 to $19.89bn as of December 31, 2025, representing an increase of $2.08bn or 11.7%. The DMO data showed that loans from the International Development Association increased from $16.56bn to $18.51bn during the period, while debt owed to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development rose from $1.24bn to $1.38bn.
The figures indicate that the World Bank accounted for 38.36 per cent of Nigeria’s total external debt stock of $51.86bn as of the end of 2025.
