The African Development Bank has approved $600 million loan as the first tranche of a one-billion-dollar budget support to help finance Nigeria’s economic governance, diversification and competitiveness programme.
Fatima Abubakar, the spokesperson for the bank in Nigeria, said the executive directors of the bank approved the facility on Wednesday.
“The last tranche of 400 million dollars will be approved in 2017,” Abubakar said.
The operation is part of a two-year (2016-2017) fiscal programme support to enable Nigeria implement reforms to achieve efficiency in government business, combat corruption and promote diversification.
It will help the government to create fiscal space to facilitate smooth implementation of its budget, support fiscal and structural reforms and improve social sector spending to protect the most vulnerable segments of the population.
“The facility will also assist the country’s efforts to quickly build a buffer of foreign exchange reserves, which will contribute to easing pressure on the foreign exchange market and stabilising the naira,” she said.
Nigeria’s success in efforts to achieve macroeconomic stability and economic recovery will signal the end of the current recession.
An elongation of the recession has potential to severely affect the economies of neighbouring countries in West and Central Africa.
Abubakar quoted Akinwunmi Adesina, AfDB president, as saying: “We must think through innovative solutions to support our regional member countries in crisis situations like this.”
“We must also provide them with the knowledge products they require to get back on track.”
She said given Nigeria’s demonstrated commitment to significantly scale up infrastructure investments (30 per cent of the 2016 budget), the resources would contribute to creating the fiscal space for investments in power, housing and transport.
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Thank you Adesina

49 more $600 million to go.