World Bank Considers Nigeria for a $2.25 Billion Loan

The World Bank is considering request of Nigeria for a $2.25 billion loan within two weeks.

Finance Minister, Wale Edun who made this known on a television program said the multilateral bank is not attaching condition to the loan which carries low interest rate.

He said that a large part of $1.5 billion out of the loan called ‘development policy operation is expected to be approved for disbursement to Nigeria.

The minister said he anticipated the disbursement after the meeting of the board of the bank.

He said: In two weeks’ time, the board of the World Bank will consider a $2.25 billion package for Nigeria, which is virtually free money or almost grant funding.’

Edun said the loan had a very low interest rate and was not being given under conditionalities.

He said the country was confident about and looking forward to the disbursement of the loan, adding that this shows we know how to use the multilateral development banks to our advantage.

Why some multinationals are leaving Nigeria.

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Explaining why some multinationals were living the country, Edun said the government was working on the economic and investment climate to attract more multinationals into Nigeria.

He said, One of the major drawbacks, one of the major impediments for them, (exiting multinationals) was they did not have a liquid foreign exchange market.

Now, we have a willing buyer, willing seller foreign exchange market. It is elevated, may be not at the levels we will like it to be but it is when you get inflation down that you can stabilise the exchange rate and even get it coming down similarly with the interest rate.

That fight is on. It is an improved environment for them, for big investors as a whole.

He said recent executive orders signed by President Bola Tinubu has improved the investment climate for gas which Nigeria had in abundance.

Companies will always come and go, of course, our aim is to not only keep them but to have them even more coming to invest, and we are sure that with the environment that we put in place, they would come, the minister said.

He said a proposal to make things easier for both local and foreign manufacturers operating in the country were in an Economic Stabilisation Package before the President.

We are in a difficult place but the direction of travel is and it’s towards improvement. So, every single day, every single month, we are looking at an improved economic situation for Nigeria,’ he said.