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By Emmanuel Adeleke
The Federal Government is set to receive about $2.2 billion single-digit interest loan from the World Bank and another budget support facility from the African Development Bank.
Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, disclosed this during a press briefing at the end of Nigeria’s activities at the World Bank/International Monetary Fund Spring meeting in Washington DC, the United States, on Saturday.
The minister, who spoke on the sources of international funding to the Nigerian economy, listed diaspora remittances, foreign portfolio investments, and facilities from the World Bank and other international development partners.
“We have qualified for the processing just this week to the Board of Directors of the World Bank of a total package of $2.25 billion, of what you can call ‘the closest you can get to a free lunch’- virtually a grant. It’s for about 10- 20 years moratorium and about 1% interest.
“In addition, there is a similar budgetary support, low-interest funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB), and clearly there are ongoing discussions with foreign direct investors across many sectors,” he said.
Edun also said issuing dollar-denominated securities, specifically targeted at Nigerians in the diaspora and those with foreign-denominated savings in Nigeria ,as another measure to attract forex inflows into the country.
He further highlighted the efforts of the fiscal side of the economy in complimenting the recent monetary policy reforms by the Central Bank of Nigeria.
According to the minister, the issuing of government securities at an interest rate closer to the CBN’s monetary policy rate is an indication of the collaboration between both sides of the economy in tackling inflation in the country and attracting forex inflows.