₦airaland Forum

In a bid to tackle pressing economic challenges, Nigeria has secured a $500 million loan from the World Bank to support its Community Action for Resilience and Economic Stimulus Program. [/b]The approval, confirmed on March 28, 2025, is expected to provide critical relief to vulnerable households and small businesses grappling with inflation, food insecurity, and economic instability.

The initiative, which focuses on grassroots-level interventions, aims to strengthen community resilience by delivering targeted grants and livelihood support to low-income families and firms. [b]It also seeks to improve food security and create economic opportunities for populations most affected by recent economic disruptions.

According to the World Bank, the program represents a significant step toward addressing systemic vulnerabilities in Nigeria’s economy. By channeling resources directly to underserved communities, the project hopes to alleviate the burden of rising living costs while fostering sustainable growth.

The 500 million loan is not the only financial commitment Nigeria anticipates this week. Two additional funding packages are in the pipeline, awaiting final approval. One of the loans, valued at 80 million, will focus on accelerating nutrition outcomes across the country.

The second, worth approximately $552 million, is designed to enhance access to quality basic education nationwide. Both projects are scheduled for final clearance on March 31, 2025.

These loans are part of the World Bank’s broader strategy to support Nigeria’s development priorities, particularly in areas such as healthcare, education, and poverty alleviation. The institution has emphasized the importance of implementing these programs efficiently to ensure maximum impact.

While the loans aim to address urgent socio-economic needs, Nigeria’s rising debt profile has raised concerns among stakeholders. Under President Bola Tinubu’s leadership, the country has received approvals for 11 World Bank projects totaling 7.45 billion in less than two years. However, data from the Debt Management Office (DMO) reveal that only 774.99 million (about 16% of the approved amount) had been disbursed as of July 31, 2024.

This slow pace of disbursement has sparked debates about the efficiency of project execution and fund utilization. Currently, Nigeria owes the World Bank 17.32 billion, with 16.84 billion owed to the International Development Association (IDA), representing 39.14% of the nation’s total external debt. Another $485.08 million is owed to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), accounting for 1.13% of external obligations.

Experts warn that without improved transparency and accountability in managing these funds, the intended benefits may not materialize. They urge the government to prioritize timely implementation and ensure that borrowed resources translate into tangible improvements for Nigerians.

As the country navigates its economic recovery efforts, the success of these initiatives will depend heavily on effective planning, coordination, and execution. For now, all eyes remain on how these new loans will be utilized to deliver lasting change.

Fountein:
Wow, that’s huge

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Monday announced the single largest asset recovery since its inception in 2003.

The development followed a ruling by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court on the final forfeiture of an Abuja estate measuring 150,500 square metres and containing 753 units of duplexes and other apartments.

According to the EFCC, the estate, located on Plot 109 Cadastral Zone C09, Lokogoma District, Abuja, belonged to a government official.

“The forfeiture of the property to the federal government by a former top brass of the government was pursuant to EFCC’s mandate and policy directive of ensuring that the corrupt and fraudulent do not enjoy the proceeds of their unlawful activities,” the statement added.

The EFCC said it relied on Section 17 of the Advance Fee Fraud And Other Fraud Related Offences Act No 14, 2006 and Section 44 (2) B of the Constitution of the 199 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to push its case.

Ruling on the Commission’s application for the final forfeiture of the property, Justice Onwuegbuzie held that the respondent have not shown cause as to why he should not lose the property, “which has been reasonably suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of unlawful activities”.

“The property is hereby finally forfeited to the Federal Government,” the judge declared, according to the statement.

The statement added, “The road to the final forfeiture of the property was paved by an interim forfeiture order, secured before the same Judge on November 1, 2024.

“The government official which fraudulently built the estate is being investigated by the EFCC. The forfeiture of the asset is an important modality of depriving the suspect of the proceeds of the crime.

“The justification for the forfeiture is derived from Part 2, Section 7 of the EFCC Establishment Act, which stipulates that the EFCC “has power to cause investigations to be conducted as to whether any person, corporate body or organization has committed any offence under this Act or other law relating to economic and financial crimes and cause investigations to be conducted into the properties of any person if it appears to the Commission that the person’s lifestyle and extent of the properties are not justified by his source of income.”

The statement added that EFCC chairman, Ola Olukoyede, has repeatedly described asset recovery as pivotal in the fight against corruption, describing it as a major disincentive against the corrupt and the fraudulent.

Addressing members of the House of Representatives Committee on Anti-corruption recently, he said, “If you understand the intricacies involved in financial crimes investigation and prosecution you will discover that to recover one billion naira is war.

“So, I told my people that the moment we start investigation we must also start asset tracing because asset recovery is pivotal in the anti-corruption fight; and one of the potent instruments that you can deploy as an anti-corruption agency for an effective fight is asset tracing and recovery.

“If you allow the corrupt or those that you are investigating to have access to the proceeds of their crime, they will fight you with it. So one of the ways to weaken them is to deprive them of the proceeds of their crime.”

Nigeria, Africa’s largest oil producer, is grappling with a 27 percent year-to-date drop in active oil rigs, posing a significant challenge to the federal government’s ambitious goal of reaching a daily crude oil output of 2 million barrels per day (bpd) by the end of December 2024.

Latest data from the November 2024 Monthly Oil Market Report of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) shows that the number of functional oil drilling rigs across the country declined to 11 in October.

OPEC data showed that the country operated an average of 17, 17 and 14 oil rigs in the first, second, and third quarters of 2024, respectively.

An oil rig/platform is a large structure that houses facilities for extracting and processing petroleum and natural gas from rock formations beneath the seabed.

The rig count reflects the level of exploration, development, and production activities in a country’s oil and gas sector. Active oil exploration attracts investment and revenues into the country for economic growth.

“Nigeria, a previously bright spot on big oil and gas investors’ radar screens, has dimmed significantly as investor attention is increasingly drawn to new and emerging developments in Namibia, Ivory Coast, Angola, and the Republic of Congo,” NJ Ayuk, executive chairperson of the African Energy Chamber, said.

“With two-thirds or more of its revenue coming from oil, investor flight is a serious problem for Nigeria.”

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealed that the country’s foreign capital investments in the industry fell from $720 million in 2016 to $3.64 million by 2023.

According to the report, the petroleum industry received nothing from the $3.38 billion in capital imports into Nigeria during the first three months of 2024.

The federal government had set out to hit the target of 2 million bpd in December this year, a development that now looks like a tall order as the country’s rig declines.

Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum (oil), said: “The shortest way for us to get out of our current economic problems is to increase production.

“And our target is that by December we want to hit at least two million barrels,” Lokpobri said.

In addition, the government claimed that Nigeria is currently revving up output, producing 1.8 million bpd as of November 2024.

Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), said that the state-owned oil company and its partners have increased crude oil and gas production to 1.8 million barrels per day (mbpd) and 7.4 standard cubic feet per day (scfd) respectively.

“The team has done a great job in driving this project of not just production recovery but also escalating production to expected levels that are in the short and long terms acceptable to our shareholders based on the mandates that we have from the President, the Honourable Minister and the Board,” Kyari explained.

Meanwhile, OPEC’s latest oil market report revealed that Nigeria’s crude oil production recorded an average of 35,000 barrels increase in crude output in October, rising to 1.434 million barrels per day (bpd).

According to the report, production rose from 1.399 million bpd in September, according to secondary data from Nigerian authorities.

Direct communication showed that Nigeria’s average crude oil production for October was 1.333 million bpd, an increase of 9,000 barrels compared to 1.324 million bpd in the previous month.

After a long wait all year, the Federal Republic of Nigeria has announced the launch of a dual-tranche Eurobond offering under its Global Medium Term Note Programme to finance the country’s 2024 fiscal deficit.

According to documents seen by BusinessDay, the government will be issuing $500 million worth of the bonds.

The two tranches of the Eurobond are, 6.5-year bond with a coupon rate of 10.125 percent and the second tranche is a 10-year bond with a coupon rate of 10.625 percent.

The last time Africa’s most populous nation tapped the international debt market was in March 2022, when it raised $1.25 billion at a rate of 8.375 percent through a seven-year Eurobond.

Eurobonds are dollar-denominated debt which is an important source of foreign capital used for development finance. This issuance can serve as a succour for the country’s volatile currency and uncertainties like silence from the fiscal side, poor reserves, low oil production others could cause damage to the credibility of the Nigerian economy.

The bonds are expected to settle on December 9, 2024.

The proceeds from the Eurobond will be used to fund critical infrastructure projects and support economic growth.

This Eurobond issuance marks another significant step in Nigeria’s efforts to diversify its funding sources and attract foreign investment.

Wale Edun, minister of finance had announced plans for the federal government to issue $1.7 billion Eurobond as part of an external borrowing plan to strengthen the country’s finances and support economic reforms last month.

He said, “The first objective is to complete the federal government’s external borrowing program with the approval of the $2.2 billion financing package, which will include access to the international capital market through a combination of Eurobonds and Sukuk bonds—approximately $1.7 billion from the Eurobond offer and $500 million from Sukuk financing.

He disclosed this to State House correspondents on Thursday after the federal executive council (FEC) meeting presided over by President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa.

According to him, the financing package will be raised through a combination of Eurobonds and Sukuk bonds, with approximately $1.7 billion expected to come from the Eurobond offer and $500 million from Sukuk financing.

Edo North senator, Adams Oshiomhole, has expressed his support for the financial autonomy of local governments in Nigeria.

On July 11, 2024, the Supreme Court upheld the financial autonomy of local governments.

Oshiomhole, speaking at a forum on local government autonomy organized by the House of Representatives on Monday, emphasized the importance of character in governance and accountability.

He advised local government chairmen to allocate resources to roads, hospitals, and other public services.

On a lighter note, Oshiomhole remarked, “It’s better to have 774 local government chairmen who are thieves than one big thief,” adding that with the autonomy, every local government in Nigeria will produce one or two billionaires, rather than having just one billionaire in the entire state