Economy
Nigeria Ranks Low in Implementation of World Bank-Funded Projects—Ahmed
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National, Mrs Zainab Ahmed, has submitted that Nigeria performs poorly in implementing projects funded by the World Bank Group.
Mrs Ahmed said this when she spoke recently at a retreat organised for members of the National Assembly on Process Optimisation in Donor-Financed Projects in Nigeria.
At the event organised by the Ministry, she said it was because of this she created a task force on disbursement in donor-funded projects in Nigeria to evaluate, review and chart a fresh course to significantly increase disbursement levels in donor-financed projects in the country.
Mrs Ahmed informed the lawmakers that much still remains to be streamlined, notwithstanding the efforts and resources committed to procuring development financing for critical sectors of the Nigerian economy.
According to her, Nigeria appears not to have made the desired progress to boost human capital development, improve infrastructure and service delivery as well as strengthening governance and institutions.
“The need to organise this important retreat is predicated on our desire and strong conviction as a Ministry saddled with the responsibility of managing the country’s financial inflows and outflows to deliver planned projects for sustained growth and national development,” she stated.
Mrs Ahmed mentioned the fact that when borrowed funds fail to be properly utilised and to deliver on planned development objectives, growth is impaired and economic development is distorted.
In her words: “An in-depth review of the level of implementation of the entire development projects reveals that delays in the execution of donor-funded projects stem from factors including bureaucratic bottlenecks, capacity challenges, political interference and challenges associated with obtaining varied and misaligned approvals processes between our local authorities and development partners.
“Accordingly, Nigeria ranks low compared to other nations of the world in terms of the level of implementation of World Bank-funded projects. It is public knowledge that there have been increased public agitations against rising foreign debts levels.
“This has put immense pressure on the government to ensure prudent management of resources, and improve transparency and accountability in the utilisation of funds from donor agencies for maximum positive impact on the economy.
“It is, therefore, against this backdrop, that I constituted a task force on disbursement in donor-funded projects in Nigeria. The term of reference (ToR) of the Taskforce is to evaluate, review and chart a fresh course to significantly increase disbursement levels in donor-financed projects in the country.
“It is to also work with relevant stakeholders to facilitate various approval processes for donor-assisted projects before final approval from the National Assembly.”
The retreat organised by the ministry for the chairmen and members of the two relevant committees of the National Assembly is, according to the Minister, in furtherance of the federal government’s efforts towards unravelling the challenges associated with the implementation of donor-financed projects with a view to evolving ways to improve execution levels for national growth and development.
“It is also a clear demonstration of our firm belief in the critical role and importance of the National Assembly to Nigeria’s development drive. As critical stakeholders, it is our hope that this retreat would provide a veritable platform for all to ex-ray the issues and resolve to tackle them headlong,” the Minister said.
She expressed her expectation that the outcome of this meeting would ultimately facilitate the elimination of avoidable delays in the implementation of donor-financed projects, increase levels of execution, improve effectiveness and efficiency in project implementation management and contribute to meeting Nigeria’s development objectives.
At the retreat were the chairmen and members of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts and the House Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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