FG seeks $5bn World Bank’s loan
. Targets electricity
In an effort to source for additional funds to starve off recession and boost the economy, the Federal Government is seeking a loan of $5bn from the World Bank Group to enhance power availability in Nigeria.
It will be recalled that the World Bank, had, in April, stated that a powerful delegation from Nigeria was in Washington DC to discuss assistance for the nation’s power sector, but did not disclose the details of the talks.
Investigation showed that the Federal Government was actually seeking a loan of $5bn to be channelled into the power sector in order to boost electricity availability in the country.
Those who attended the meeting in April 25, 2017 in Washington DC, were, the Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; Chairman, Senate Committee on Power, Steel and Metallurgy, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe; and Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Power, Mr. Dan Asuquo.
At the end of the meeting, the World Bank Group had said that it would deploy a full range of instruments to mobilise investments to resolve Nigeria’s energy crisis.
The Director of Operations at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency, an arm of the World Bank Group, Sarvesh Suri, said a full range of instruments would be deployed to help the government mobilise investments directly from the private sector and through private sector guarantees.
According to the Debt Management Office, out of Nigeria’s external debt of $13.81bn as of March 31, 2017, the World Bank Group had a portfolio of $6.93bn.
This means that the World Bank holds more than 50 per cent of the country’s external debt portfolio.
Should the loan being sought by the Federal Government be approved, Nigeria’s indebtedness to the World Bank would rise to about $11bn, excluding other smaller loans that have been approved after the March 31 accounting date.
The bank had in 2014 announced $1.19bn guarantees meant to lift the nation’s electricity sector.
The Board of Executive Directors of three arms of the World Bank approved the package of loans and guarantees supporting a series of energy projects to help boost independent power generation and ease crippling energy shortages in Nigeria.
It said the projects were critical elements of the World Bank Group Energy Business Plan for Nigeria.
