The Federal Government has opened discussions with the World Bank for three proposed loans worth a combined $1.5bn, even as Nigeria’s public debt reached N166.79tn at the end of June 2026.
The proposed facilities include $500m each for climate resilience, social protection and early childhood development.
The first proposed loan is additional funding for the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes project. If approved, the facility would raise the programme’s total financing from $700m to $1.2bn and support landscape restoration, flood and erosion management, irrigation, water storage and other climate-resilience projects.
The second $500m facility is for the Household Prosperity and Empowerment-Social Protection Project. It is designed to expand social assistance for poor and vulnerable households, strengthen the social registry and improve the delivery of cash-transfer programmes through federal, state and local government systems.
The World Bank said Nigeria’s spending on social safety-net programmes remained low compared with global and lower-middle-income averages.
The third proposed facility is a $500m Nigeria Early Childhood Development programme. The Federal Ministry of Finance would be the borrower, while the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning is expected to implement the programme.
