President Bola Tinubu’s administration has secured $11.40bn in loan approvals from the World Bank in just about three years, putting it on course to surpass the total amount approved under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year administration, an analysis of data obtained by The PUNCH from the World Bank has shown.
The analysis showed that the World Bank approved loans worth $11.40bn for Nigeria between June 2023 and June 2026, compared with $14.59bn approved during Buhari’s presidency from May 2015 to May 2023.
The latest figure means Tinubu’s administration has already secured about 78.2 per cent of the total World Bank financing approved during Buhari’s two terms in office and requires another $3.19bn in approvals to exceed that record.
The data further showed that World Bank loans approved under Tinubu have already surpassed those listed under Buhari’s first term by more than $5.8bn. According to the World Bank data, projects approved under Buhari’s first term amounted to about $5.56bn.
Using the figures contained in the World Bank database, Tinubu’s current approvals exceed the Buhari first-term total by about 105 per cent.
However, of the $11.4bn approved under Tinubu, only $2.32bn had been disbursed as of the latest update on the World Bank website, leaving $8.41bn available for disbursement. This represents a disbursement rate of about 20.3 per cent.
By comparison, projects approved during Buhari’s administration have recorded much higher implementation levels. Out of the $14.59bn approved during his presidency, $11.94bn had been disbursed, while $1.53bn remained available.
The figures translate to a disbursement rate of about 81.8 per cent, reflecting the fact that many of the projects have either been completed, are in repayment or are approaching completion.
The World Bank portfolio under Tinubu has been concentrated largely in economic reforms, education, healthcare, agriculture, energy, digital infrastructure, financial inclusion and social protection.
The single largest approval came in June 2024, when the World Bank approved a $2.25bn financing package comprising the $1.5bn Nigeria Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation Development Policy Financing and the $750m Nigeria Accelerating Resource Mobilisation Reforms Programme-for-Results.
