The administration of President Bola Tinubu in Nigeria is seeking to secure three new World Bank loans worth a combined $1.5bn. According to World Bank documents, the proposed facilities will provide $500m each for climate resilience, social protection, and early childhood development programmes. The loans are expected to be provided by the International Development Association, the World Bank's concessional financing arm.
One of the proposed loans is an additional $500m financing for the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes project, known as ACReSAL. This project aims to improve climate resilience in Nigeria's semi-arid regions. The World Bank has scheduled October 29, 2026, as the estimated date for consideration of the financing by its board. If approved, the additional financing will increase the total size of ACReSAL from $700m to $1.2bn.
The proposed funding for ACReSAL will support activities including landscape restoration, watershed rehabilitation, erosion and flood control, irrigation and drainage, water harvesting and storage, reforestation, and other measures aimed at improving climate resilience. About $310m of the proposed financing is earmarked for dryland management, while $165m will support community climate resilience and $25m will go towards institutional strengthening and project management.
Another proposed loan is the Household Prosperity and Empowerment-Social Protection Project, which aims to expand social assistance for poor and vulnerable households. The proposed $500m financing comprises a $420m results-based programme and an $80m investment project financing component. The programme is designed to establish a sustainable social assistance system for poor and vulnerable households, financed increasingly from federal and state budgets.
The World Bank noted that Nigeria spent only 0.14 per cent of its GDP on social safety-net programmes in 2021, compared with a global average of 1.5 per cent and 1.2 per cent among lower-middle-income countries. The lender also estimated that the share of Nigerians living in poverty increased from 40 per cent in 2019 to 56 per cent in 2023 and could reach 62.5 per cent in 2026.
A third proposed loan of $500m is for Nigeria's Early Childhood Development programme, aimed at improving access to health, nutrition, early learning, childcare, water, and sanitation services for children from birth to five years. The project will cover all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. The World Bank has scheduled October 30, 2026, for its technical design review and March 15, 2027, as the estimated approval date.
The proposed World Bank borrowing comes as Nigeria's public debt has continued to increase, rising from N152.40tn in June 2025 to N166.79tn in June 2026, representing an increase of N14.39tn or 9.44 per cent in one year. Nigeria's debt to the World Bank Group has also grown, with the country owing $20.73bn as of June 2026, comprising $19.12bn to IDA and $1.61bn to the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
Key points
- The proposed loans aim to support climate resilience, social protection, and early childhood development programmes in Nigeria.
- Nigeria's public debt has continued to increase, rising to N166.79tn in June 2026.
- The country's debt to the World Bank Group has grown to $20.73bn as of June 2026.
