AFDB PROVIDES OVER $4BN FUNDING FOR NIGERIA.(PHOTO).

AFDB Provides Over $4bn Funding For Nigeria

Africa Development Bank (AFDB), says it has made provision for a $4.4 billion dollers funding portfolio for Nigeria to take care of the nation’s developmental challenges.

The Director Country Department of the AFDB, Mr. Lamin Barow, stated this in Abuja at the opening of a Joint Country Portfolio Performance Review meeting, organised by the Bank in collaboration with the International Economic Relations Department of the Ministry of Finance.

The Director, AFDB Country Department , Mr. Lamin Barrow, who lauded the Federal Government for its bold reform initiatives such as the removal of fuel subsidies and foreign exchange harmonisation, said the Bank’s funding portfolio in Nigeria was the largest in Africa.

“Currently, the Bank’s portfolio in Nigeria is one of the largest among the Regional Member Countries (RMCs), with a total commitment value of US$ 4.4 billion. These are comprised of 48 operations fairly evenly distributed between public and private sector operations. The presentations will provide more information on the profile and quality of the portfolio.”

 

Mr. Barrow expressed satisfaction with the improvement of submission rate of procurement plan which according to him has improved from seventy-two to Eighty-Two percent.

He said  “Since the 2022 CPPR Workshop, some of the portfolio performance metrics have improved. In particular, operations flagged for implementation challenges decreased from 36% in January 2023 to 32% in September 2023. This is a result of collective efforts from Federal Ministry of Finance, the Executing Agencies and the Bank to reduce start-up and implementation delays. Indeed, the time taken to meet loan effectiveness and first disbursement conditions tend to be excessive. Let me acknowledge the unprecedented recent development with the FEC approval of the Ekiti Knowledge Zone project.We are pleased that the share of start-up delays has been reduced from 32% of flagged operations in June 2023 to 28% in October 2023, and is expected to reach 8% by end 2023 with timely and targeted actions for some projects.”

 

The Director, International Economic Relations Department in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr. Stanley George observed that, long Implementation plan, low disbursement rate and poor communication with the various MDAs was impeding the smooth performance of the AFDB portfolio for Nigeria.

Mr George who called for strong support from the Bank to Nigeria, expressed optimism that the forum would provide opportunity for Government to succeed in its reform initiatives.