The African Development Bank has agreed to provide Nigeria with a $500 million budget support loan this year as part of a $1 billion program aimed at strengthening fiscal and economic reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Nigeria’s Executive Director at the AfDB, Bode Oyetunde, confirmed the development on Monday during the Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja. The loan is part of a two-year, $1 billion budget support initiative designed to bolster Nigeria’s fiscal resilience and accelerate policy reforms in key economic sectors.
The AfDB’s decision to provide the loan is in recognition of Nigeria’s “bold and aggressive macroeconomic reforms” since President Tinubu took office in May 2023. These reforms include the removal of fuel subsidies, unification of foreign exchange rates, and broad tax reforms aimed at stabilizing public finances and attracting investment.
The loan is expected to ease fiscal pressures on the federal government, strengthen its reform implementation capacity, and provide much-needed liquidity for developmental programs in the medium term. The AfDB’s support program focuses on fiscal and power sector reforms, which are considered key to sustaining Nigeria’s growth and macroeconomic stability.
“We have been working strongly to support Nigeria’s very bold and aggressive macroeconomic reforms under President Tinubu. Given all these reforms, it was important to support Nigeria,” Oyetunde said.
The loan is subject to board approval and could be finalized before the end of the year. The AfDB’s support for Nigeria’s economic reforms is seen as a vote of confidence in the country’s policy direction.