FG seeks $1.5bn World Bank loans as debt hits ₦166.79tn - The Guardian Nigeria News
The Federal Government is in discussions with the World Bank for three proposed financing facilities worth a combined $1.5bn, with the funds expected to support climate resilience, early childhood development and social protection programmes.
The proposed facilities, each valued at $500m, are at different stages of preparation, according to documents obtained from the World Bank.
The first is an additional $500m financing for the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes project, known as ACReSAL.
The World Bank has scheduled October 29, 2026, for consideration of the facility by its board. If approved, the additional financing would take total World Bank funding for ACReSAL from the existing $700m to $1.2bn.
The project operates across 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, focusing on issues including land degradation, water insecurity, climate vulnerability and declining agricultural productivity.
According to the project appraisal document, “The Government of Nigeria has requested AF of $500 million to scale up demonstrated project results and strengthen the institutional, operational and financing arrangements needed to sustain integrated landscape management.”
Of the proposed $500m additional financing, $310m is earmarked for dryland management, $165m for community climate resilience and $25m for institutional strengthening and project management.
Another $500m facility is being proposed for Nigeria’s Early Childhood Development programme.
The programme is designed to expand access to health, nutrition, early learning, childcare and related services for children aged zero to five and their caregivers across the 36 states and the FCT.
World Bank data cited in the project documents show that 40 per cent of Nigerian children under five are stunted, while fewer than half are considered developmentally on track. The data also show that only 36 per cent of children between 36 and 59 months attend organised early learning.
The third proposed facility is the $500m Household Prosperity and Empowerment – Social Protection Project, known as HOPE-SP.
The facility is expected to support conditional and unconditional cash transfers for poor and vulnerable households, strengthen social protection institutions and gradually move more of the financing burden from external sources to federal and state budgets.
The World Bank estimates that 62.5 per cent of Nigerians could be living in poverty in 2026, compared with 40 per cent in 2019 and 56 per cent in 2023.
All three proposed facilities are expected to be financed through credits from the World Bank’s International Development Association.
The proposed borrowing comes as Nigeria’s public debt reached N166.79tn at the end of June 2026, up from N159.35tn in March.
In dollar terms, the country’s total public debt stood at $120.93bn as of June, comprising $54.52bn in external debt and $66.41bn in domestic debt.
Nigeria’s outstanding debt to the World Bank Group also rose to $20.73bn by June 2026, representing about 38 per cent of the country’s total external debt.
The proposed $1.5bn facilities are not yet approved loans. The ACReSAL financing is currently scheduled for World Bank board consideration in October, while the Early Childhood Development and HOPE-SP facilities are expected to go before the board in March 2027.
If approved, the three facilities would add another $1.5bn to Nigeria’s World Bank-backed financing pipeline.
