The Federal Government has opened discussions with the World Bank on three proposed loans worth a combined $1.5bn, even as Nigeria’s public debt reached a record N166.79tn at the end of June 2026.
The proposed facilities include $500m each for climate resilience, social protection and early childhood development. The first is additional financing for the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes project, which would increase its total funding from $700m to $1.2bn.
The additional ACReSAL financing is expected to support landscape restoration, erosion and flood management, irrigation, water storage and other climate-related interventions across 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory. The World Bank said desertification and land degradation affect an estimated 43 per cent of Nigeria’s land area.
Another proposed $500m facility is for the Household Prosperity and Empowerment-Social Protection project. The programme would fund targeted cash transfers, modernise the social registry, integrate National Identification Numbers into the social protection system and strengthen delivery through federal, state and local governments.
The third $500m facility is for the Nigeria Early Childhood Development programme, which would cover all 36 states and the FCT. It is designed to expand access to health, nutrition, early learning, childcare, water and sanitation services for children aged zero to five, with the World Bank citing high rates of stunting and limited access to organised early learning.
The proposed borrowing comes as Nigeria’s public debt increased by N14.39tn year-on-year to N166.79tn in June, while external debt stood at N75.20tn. The World Bank Group was owed $20.73bn by Nigeria at the end of June, accounting for about 38 per cent of the country’s $54.52bn external debt.
The debt portfolio also showed increased reliance on Treasury bills, whose outstanding value rose 52.64 per cent to N19.48tn within a year. Economist Adewale Abimbola said borrowing from multilateral institutions could be beneficial where financing is concessional and funds are directed towards viable projects, stressing that the effectiveness of the loans depends on their utilisation.
