Nigeria obtains $544m loan for 5 projects
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Nigeria obtained $2.031 billion loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) and other co-financing partners between 2019 and 2021 with $544 million of it ring-fenced in 2021 for five operations.
AfDB Nigeria Country Department Director General Lamin Barrow made the disclosure at the 2022 Country Portfolio Performance Review (CPPR) workshop in Abuja.
AfDB mobilised about $1 billion through co-financing from other development partners, he said, and in 2020 General Budget Support operation worth $288.5 million was approved under the COVID-19 Crisis Response Facility.
He disclosed that since the 2019 CPPR, 15 operations have exited and AfDB recorded the entry of six operations which increased its portfolio in Nigeria by $198.6 million.
“Meanwhile, $544 million in loan financing was approved for five operations in 2021. The bank has leveraged its resources by mobilising co-financing from other development partners to the tune of nearly 41 billion,” Barrow said.
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AfDB portfolio in Nigeria
According to Barrow, the portfolio of AfDB in Nigeria comprises 63 operations for a total commitment value of $5 billion distributed between public and private sector operations in many sectors, per reporting by Nairametrics.
He said there have been changes since the 2019 CPPR workshop due to the pandemic which caused major disruptions in the activities of AfDB. However, the bank still recorded modest gains.
“For instance, the pace of project implementation has picked up in 2021 as evidenced in the cumulative disbursement rate which increased from 57 per cent in 2019 to 66 per cent in 2021.
“Similarly, the portfolio performance rating has remained satisfactory at around three on a scale of one to four over the same period.
“Fiduciary compliance is also improving with progress observed in the submission rate of audited financial statements by the executing/implementing agencies.”
In his view, 2022 CPPR presents a good opportunity to take stock of progress and execute timely actions to avoid further slippages and clean up the portfolio to ensure that new projects reach implementation stage at a faster pace.
“This has become more urgent in the context of the federal government’s efforts to achieve rapid economic recovery from the pandemic as articulated in the medium-term National Development Plan 2021-2025.”
AfDB support for Nigeria
Aisha Omar, Finance Ministry International Economic Relations Director, said AfDB has demonstrated its unwavering support in Nigeria’s times of difficulty by mobilising resources for investment in the country.
“Nigeria is currently stepping up efforts to ensure the implementation of donor assistance for the effectiveness of our portfolio.
“Our approach is to adopt a rigorous tracking and monitoring of all donor interventions across the country,” she explained.
