FEC approves $3.45bn World Bank loan to fund power, girl empowerment project

The Federal Executive Council has approved a $3.45 billion World Bank loan facility, which will be used to provide concessional finance for a variety of projects, including those related to education for young girls, renewable energy, and power.

The disclosure was made by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, after the Federal Executive Council FEC meeting on Monday.

Edun hinted that the credit facility also included cash for state resource mobilisation initiatives, which will support their efforts to create revenue internally.

Additionally, Edun disclosed to the Nigerian government that the lending facility included a 10-year initial moratorium at a very low interest rate.

He said, “At the Federal Executive Council, today I presented five memos which were gracefully approved by the Federal Executive Council. They were to do with concessional and in many cases zero-interest financing by the World Bank and the International Development Association, which is the very concessional financing arm.

“The projects that were approved for funding were in the power sector and then the renewable energy sector.

“There was a funding for states for resource mobilization program to help them with the internally-generated revenue efforts.

“There was a project for adolescent girls’ initiative for learning and empowerment, essentially, as it says, it’s a program to support young girls from the age of 11, secondary school age, and to ensure that at the end of the schooling, they have one skill or the other that is marketable, as well as the academic laurels.

“Then finally the fifth financing that was approved was for Women project and this is an additional project. The first one was very successful. It was all about empowering women, upscaling their skills levels, and of course, giving them some financial inclusion, including in the banking system.

“So those were five loans totaling N3.45billion. As you know, the tenure is all around 40 years, moratorium period of around 10 years and interest very low, or in the cases of the either loans, zero interest, although some fees would be incurred.”