By David Akinmola
The Federal Government is seeking $1.5 billion in fresh financing from the World Bank through three proposed loans aimed at strengthening climate resilience, expanding early childhood development and supporting vulnerable households, as the country continues to rely on multilateral financing to fund key development programmes.
The proposed facilities, each valued at $500 million, are at different stages of preparation and would be financed through the World Bank’s International Development Association (IDA), subject to approval by the bank’s board. The earliest of the three is the additional financing for the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project, scheduled for board consideration on October 29, 2026.
The other two proposed facilities are a $500 million Nigeria Early Childhood Development programme and the $500 million Household Prosperity and Empowerment–Social Protection Project (HOPE-SP), both scheduled for consideration in March 2027.
The latest financing proposal comes against the backdrop of a rising public debt profile. Nigeria’s total public debt stood at ₦166.79 trillion as of June 30, 2026, according to figures cited in the latest report, up from ₦159.35 trillion at the end of March. In dollar terms, total public debt was put at $120.93 billion, comprising $54.52 billion in external debt and $66.41 billion in domestic obligations.
Under the ACReSAL proposal, the Federal Government is seeking an additional $500 million to scale up an existing $700 million programme focused on tackling land degradation, water insecurity, climate vulnerability and declining agricultural productivity.
The programme operates across 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, with the proposed additional financing expected to allocate $310 million to dryland management, $165 million to community climate resilience and $25 million to institutional strengthening and project management.
The second proposed facility, the $500 million Early Childhood Development programme, is designed to expand access to integrated health, nutrition, early learning and childcare services for children aged zero to five and their caregivers across the 36 states and the FCT.
According to World Bank project documents cited in the report, about 40 per cent of Nigerian children under five are stunted, while fewer than half are considered developmentally on track and only 36 per cent of children aged 36 to 59 months attend organised early learning.
The third facility, HOPE-SP, is targeted at strengthening Nigeria’s social protection system through conditional and unconditional cash transfers, institutional reforms and measures designed to gradually shift social protection financing from external sources to federal and state budgets.
The World Bank estimates that 62.5 per cent of Nigerians could be living in poverty in 2026, compared with 40 per cent in 2019 and 56 per cent in 2023.
The proposed $1.5 billion package would also add to Nigeria’s existing World Bank financing commitments. The World Bank’s financing database shows substantial exposure to Nigeria through both its International Development Association and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development facilities, with total project commitments running into tens of billions of dollars.
The Federal Government’s latest borrowing plan is therefore likely to renew attention on the balance between using concessional development financing to fund social and economic programmes and managing the country’s growing debt obligations.
Importantly, the three proposed facilities are not yet approved loans. Their inclusion in the World Bank pipeline means they remain subject to the bank’s appraisal and approval processes and the terms applicable to each operation.
The latest proposal follows the World Bank’s approval in June 2024 of a separate $1.5 billion Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilization to Enable Transformation (RESET) Development Policy Financing programme, alongside a $750 million resource mobilisation programme. The bank said the financing was designed to support macroeconomic stability, revenue mobilisation and protection for vulnerable Nigerians.
For the new financing package, the focus is shifting towards development projects with direct implications for climate resilience, human capital and social protection, areas that could determine how effectively additional borrowing translates into longer-term economic and social outcomes.
