By Adedapo Adesanya
The World Bank has approved two significant financial operations aimed at boosting Nigeria’s economic stability and providing support to millions of vulnerable citizens amid reforms.
According to a statement from the bank late on Thursday, the combined package, totalling $2.25 billion, comprises the $1.5 billion Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilization to Enable Transformation (RESET) Development Policy Financing Program (DPF) and the $750 million Nigeria Accelerating Resource Mobilization Reforms (ARMOR) Program-for-Results (PforR).
The funding is intended to provide immediate financial and technical support for Nigeria’s urgent economic stabilization efforts.
It also aims to enhance the country’s non-oil revenue generation and safeguard oil revenues, thereby promoting fiscal sustainability and enabling the delivery of quality public services.
“This combined $2.25 billion package provides immediate financial and technical support to Nigeria’s urgent efforts to stabilize the economy and scale up support to the poor and most economically at risk.
“It further supports Nigeria’s ambitious, multi-year effort to raise non-oil revenues and safeguard oil revenues to promote fiscal sustainability and provide sufficient resources to deliver quality public services,” the Bretton-Wood institution said.
Speaking on the injection, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, expressed optimism about the reforms.
“We have embarked on bold and necessary reforms to restore macroeconomic stability and put the country back on a sustainable and inclusive economic growth path that will create quality jobs and economic opportunities for all Nigerians.
“We welcome the support of the RESET and ARMOR programs as we further consolidate and implement our macro-fiscal and social protection policy reforms, consistent with accelerating investment and redirecting public resources sustainably to achieve development priorities,” it added.
On his part, Mr Ousmane Diagana, the World Bank Vice President for Western and Central Africa, highlighted the importance of sustaining the reform momentum.
“Nigeria’s concerted efforts to implement far-reaching macro-fiscal reforms place it on a new path which can stabilize its economy and lift its people out of poverty. It is critical to sustain the reform momentum and continue to scale up and expand protection to the poor and economically at risk to cushion the effects of cost-of-living pressures on citizens.
“This financing package reinforces the World Bank’s strong partnership with Nigeria, and our support towards reinvigorating its economy and fast-tracking poverty reduction, which can serve as a beacon for Africa,” he said.
Dipo Olowookere