The World Bank has promised to boost funding for Nigerian development initiatives.
When leading his team on a courtesy visit to the minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Atiku Bagudu, in Abuja on Tuesday, World Bank Country Director Shubham Chaudhuri revealed this.
According to Chaudhuri, his main objective is to work with the government at the federal and state levels to modernise Nigeria, spurring private investment and job creation in addition to making investments in children and opening doors for Nigeria’s youth and women.
In a press conference with media following the meeting, Chaudhuri stated, “For Nigeria, we have been supporting a wide range of programming, ranging from school projects, economic empowerment, and energy for rural areas.
We discussed with the minister what we could do with ideas and experiences from other nations in addition to finance because we have a wide variety of support.
We had a discussion with the minister about how to make sure that public money are used as effectively and efficiently as possible for the benefit of all Nigerians as part of the budget’s crucial role in economic planning and budget function.
“We don’t just provide funding; we also wish to share ideas and some international expertise.
“Specifically, we discussed Nigeria’s Cash Programme, ongoing State-implemented programmes that the ministry coordinates, not just for the federal government but also for sub-nationals,” the statement reads.
According to the minister, the major areas of collaboration between the ministry and the World Bank are blended projects that combine loans and grants from donors, particularly the European Union, with development assistance.
They gave us assurances of additional help and expressed appreciation for the audacious steps and policies the Bola Tinubu administration has taken to reposition the Nigerian economy, he said.
It may be recalled that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu recently received a visit from the World Bank President, who asked for greater assistance.
