Nigeria seeks fresh $2.5bn World Bank loan
Nigeria and the World Bank are in talks for as much as $2.5 billion in a new tranche of concessionary lending to the country.
In the past year Nigeria received $2.4 billion from the World Bank.
Faced with revenue shortfalls as the output and price of oil fell in the past five years, President Muhammadu Buhari's administration has increased borrowing to finance government spending, with domestic debt at $55.6 billion and foreign loans at $25.6 billion.
The Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, said borrowing would be a key component in funding the budget as government cannot drive the required resources to fund the budget without borrowing.
She said the new borrowings are put at NGN1.605 trillion for 2019, projected NGN1.7 trillion for 2020, NGN1.6 trillion for 2021 and NGN1.3 trillion for 2020. The borrowings will be 50% local and 50% foreign.
