The Federal Executive Council (FEC) has approved an application to secure a budget support loan worth $1.5 billion from the World Bank and an additional $80 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, made the announcement while speaking with State House Correspondents after the FEC meeting on Tuesday.
Edun said the funds will be utilised for various projects in crucial sectors of the nation’s economy. He added that Nigeria qualified for the “relatively cheap” loans given its “macro-economic moves” in the past couple of months since President Bola Tinubu assumed office.
“The bold, brave, courageous and decisive measures that Mr President has taken are being rewarded by processing for Nigeria $1.5bn of immediate financing, which, provided that we do everything on our side, will be in before the end of the year,” Edun said.
He explained that the $1.5 billion loan from the World Bank would be concessional financing, which means that it would have a low interest rate and a long repayment period.
Edun also said that the $80 million loan from the AfDB will be used to support the Ekiti Knowledge Zone Project, which is an initiative to train and empower young people in the technology sector.