By Emeka Okoroanyanwu
The World Bank has disbursed over $1.4 billion of investment funds in Nigeria this year. This is about 23 per cent of its total portfolio disbursed in 2019. This is against the 18 per cent disbursed in 2018 and the 8 per cent in the 2017 fiscal year.
Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Finance, Dr. Mahmoud Isa- Dutse, disclosed this at the Nigeria Portfolio Performance Awards organized which the ministry with the World Bank in Abuja. This is even as the Bank disclosed that its net portfolio commitment to Nigeria currently stood at over $11 billion so far.
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World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Rachid Benmessaoud said the projects were spread across the health, education, agriculture, social protection, energy, infrastructure and governance among other sectors. He said the bank was also developing a new country partnership framework that would outline the new reform challenges in order to “support the government in implementing the solutions to these challenges.”
He said the country partnership strategy had been anchored on the economic reform plan of the government, particularly the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP), which is the medium term programme of the government on which it had aligned the country partnership framework.
He promised that the bank would continue to be on its toes until it see sustained development in all aspects of Nigeria’s socio-economic environment.
He noted that investing in human capital remained critical towards helping Nigeria to meet its development objectives, adding that the role of the private sector in fast tracking development outcomes was also crucial in areas such as infrastructure.
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The country Director said the institution’s partnership with government will continue to explore innovative ways to design and deliver projects that not only affect thousands of Nigerians, but those that change the circumstances of millions.
Isa-Dutse, said many of the bank’s projects had surpassed expectations while many had also performed below expectations, hence the award to encourage performing states, project implementation units and other stakeholders to maintain or even exceed their strides and to challenge others to catch up.
He said:” The Federal Ministry of Finance earnestly looks forward to a scenario where slow implementation, weak ownership by state governments and MDAs, delayed disbursements and absence of proper coordination mechanisms will be a thing of the past.
“While respective project portfolios are disbursed effectively and judiciously, the country derives maximum benefits on these loans by way of job creation, improved living conditions, reduction in poverty level and boosting of shared prosperity. We will assist the bank to deliver on all aspects of project implementation.”
