Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The World Bank has approved a fresh $1.25 billion loan for Nigeria under its Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration (NAIJA) programme, despite mounting public concerns over the country's escalating debt burden and repeated calls for the Federal Government to reduce external borrowing.
The approval was announced in a statement issued by the World Bank on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, alongside the launch of a new Country Partnership Framework (CPF) for Nigeria covering 2026 to 2032. The bank said the new framework would guide its support for Nigeria over the next six years, with a focus on creating jobs by unlocking private sector-led growth.
The loan is structured as a Development Policy Financing (DPF) operation, with the Federal Ministry of Finance serving as the implementing agency. According to the World Bank, the programme is designed to help Nigeria transition from macroeconomic stabilisation to inclusive economic growth and job creation.
The reforms supported by the loan include deepening capital markets, modernising the regulatory framework for the digital economy and e-governance, advancing power sector reforms to accelerate electrification, lowering trade barriers in line with Nigeria's ECOWAS and AfCFTA commitments, improving access to quality agricultural seeds, and strengthening domestic revenue mobilisation. The World Bank said the funding would support reforms aimed at expanding access to finance, digital services, and electricity, while strengthening competitiveness through tax, trade, and agriculture reforms.
The World Bank said the new Country Partnership Framework aims to expand electricity access to 32 million Nigerians, provide broadband connectivity to 58 million people, improve health and nutrition services for 40 million citizens, and support 9.5 million farmers. It also seeks to strengthen human capital, boost agricultural productivity, and expand access to energy and digital infrastructure.
World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, said the institution would focus on helping Nigeria convert recent macroeconomic gains into improved living standards. "The recent macroeconomic gains have been critical to help stabilise the economy. Translating improved macroeconomic conditions into better living standards will require addressing the structural constraints to spur private sector investment and job creation," he said.
The International Finance Corporation's Divisional Director for Nigeria, Dahlia Khalifa, said Nigeria's reform agenda had created opportunities to attract greater private investment.
The approval comes amid intense public scrutiny of Nigeria's growing debt profile. As of April 15, 2026, the Debt Management Office (DMO) reported that Nigeria's total public debt for federal and state governments had hit N159.27 trillion at the end of the fourth quarter of 2025. President Bola Tinubu has declared that Nigeria would spend about $11.6 billion (over N15 trillion) on debt servicing alone in 2026.
The World Bank acknowledged that the overall risk of the new operation is high, citing political and governance risks ahead of the 2027 elections, macroeconomic risks from oil price vulnerability, inflationary pressure from a prolonged Middle East conflict, possible setbacks in revenue reforms, election-related spending, fiduciary risks, and social risks around trade reforms.
The loan has drawn sharp criticism from opposition figures and civil society groups. The African Democratic Congress (ADC) described the development as "deeply alarming," accusing the Tinubu administration of running a "Ponzi economy" where new loans are constantly taken to service old debts and cover fiscal failures.
The ADC noted that the government removed fuel subsidy, devalued the Naira, increased electricity tariffs, and imposed painful economic policies on citizens, promising that temporary sacrifice would lead to long-term recovery. Instead, Nigerians have continued to suffer one of the worst cost-of-living crises in recent history, while the government continues to pile on more debts. The party said Nigeria cannot continue mortgaging the future of unborn generations to keep the present administration politically afloat.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar also criticised the loan, describing the administration's borrowing pattern as "economic vandalism". "This administration appears to believe that borrowing is governance. It is not. Loans are not achievements. Debt is not development. And mortgaging the future of unborn Nigerians to fund present incompetence is not economic management—it is economic vandalism," Atiku said.
The public backlash was so intense that the World Bank reportedly restricted comments on its Instagram page after Nigerians flooded the platform with appeals urging the financial institution to stop approving loan requests to the Tinubu administration. One user wrote: "Dear @WorldBankGroup, why did you lock your comments section on Instagram? Nigerians are telling you to stop giving our Criminal Leaders Billions in Loans that only gets Stolen". Others warned that continued lending would deepen the debt trap and enable elite capture, alleging that the funds fuel corruption rather than alleviate poverty affecting over 60 percent of Nigerians. "Stop giving Tinubu loans, he is not using it for the citizens," another added.
The loan approval comes after the World Bank had approved approximately **$9.35 billion** in loans and credits for Nigeria under President Tinubu's administration between June 2023 and May 2026. With this new $1.25 billion facility, total World Bank approvals under the Tinubu administration will rise to about $10.6 billion. The approval also comes barely six months and 21 days before Nigeria's next presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027.
The World Bank said Nigeria had implemented major reforms since 2023, including the removal of the petrol subsidy, unification of the exchange rate, halting of central bank deficit financing, and strengthening of revenue administration. However, the Bank warned that Nigeria has not yet moved decisively into a higher and inclusive growth path, noting that growth remains modest, per capita income is rising by less than 2%, and 63% of Nigerians, over 139 million people, remained in poverty in 2025.
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