President Bola Tinubu’s government is reportedly negotiating a fresh $1.25 billion loan facility with the World Bank to support economic reforms, job creation, and investment growth.
The proposed facility were contained in a World Bank document titled “Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration.”
According to Channels Television, the document showed that the negotiations have reached an advanced stage, with the proposed facility expected to be presented for approval on June 26, 2026.
The development indicates that the loan request has moved beyond the concept and appraisal phases and is now approaching final consideration by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors.
If approved, the facility would rank among Nigeria’s largest recent borrowings from the global lender, behind only the $1.5bn Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation Development Policy Financing approved in June 2024.
The document identified the borrower as the Federal Republic of Nigeria, while the Federal Ministry of Finance is expected to serve as the implementing agency.
Loan Tied To Reforms, Competitiveness
The World Bank said the proposed funding is aimed at supporting the Federal Government’s reform agenda across key sectors of the economy.
According to the document, the facility is designed “to support the government’s efforts to expand access to finance, digital, and electricity services, and strengthen competitiveness through tax, trade, and agriculture reforms.”
The lender explained that the project had already passed crucial internal assessments and was progressing towards final approval.
“The review did authorise the team to appraise and negotiate,” the document stated.
The current stage of the process, known as the decision meeting stage, is regarded as one of the final internal steps before a project is formally presented to the World Bank Board for approval.
At this stage, negotiations on financing terms, reform commitments, and policy actions are largely concluded in principle between both parties
The latest move comes amid growing concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt burden and increasing dependence on external financing.
Nigeria’s external debt stood at $51.86 billion as of December 31, 2025, while total public debt has climbed to $110.97 billion.
Between June 2023 and May 2026, the World Bank approved approximately $9.35bn in loans and credits for Nigeria across several sectors.
The approvals covered power, healthcare, education, agriculture, social protection, renewable energy, economic reforms, and financing support for micro, small, and medium-scale enterprises.
Among the major approvals were the $2.25bn RESET and ARMOR reform financing package approved in June 2024, the $1.57bn financing for the HOPE and SPIN programmes approved in September 2024, and the $1.08bn education and resilience support programmes approved in March 2025.
The fresh negotiations come only days after the Accountant-General of the Federation, Shamseldeen Ogunjimi, warned that Nigeria might reject World Bank loans if approval and disbursement delays continue beyond six months.
In a statement issued last week by the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, Bawa Mokwa, Ogunjimi raised concerns during a courtesy visit by a World Bank delegation led by Mrs Treed Lane in Abuja.
The AGF stressed that Nigeria expected quicker processing of loan applications, especially because the facilities were repayable loans and not grants.
“If approvals take more than six months, the Nigerian Government may no longer honour such arrangements,” Ogunjimi said.
He added that prolonged bureaucratic delays could disrupt project execution timelines and undermine broader national development objectives.
Ogunjimi further urged the World Bank to “expedite the approval and disbursement of project funds to Nigeria” in line with the country’s fiscal planning framework and development priorities.
According to him, since the loans come with repayment obligations, disbursement timelines must align with implementation schedules to ensure effective utilisation of the funds.
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