The African Development Bank’s Board of Directors on Wednesday approved a $600m loan for Nigeria, several months after the Federal Government had approached the lender for a budget-support facility.
The loan is meant to help Nigeria plug its budget deficit as the nation grapples with its first recession in more than 20 years.
Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina, had on September 26 said the bank was working on giving Nigeria loan facilities of $4.1bn between now and next year for critical sectors of the economy.
According to the AfDB president, the package includes $1bn in budget support; $300m to create jobs for 185,000 youths; $250m towards infrastructure development in the North-East; $1m grant to deal with challenges of Internally Displaced Persons; $300m for infrastructure development around Abuja, and $200m for the Transmission Company of Nigeria to improve its facilities, among others.
