A high-level World Bank delegation led by Vice President for Western and Central Africa, Ousmane Diagana, met with the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, on Monday to reaffirm the institution’s support for President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms and development goals.
Diagana lauded Nigeria’s recent GDP growth of 3.4% the strongest since 2014 and acknowledged the country’s progress in stabilising the economy and improving portfolio performance.
He emphasized the importance of maintaining reform efforts, stating that there is a need “to maintain reform momentum to achieve inclusive, job-creating growth,” while also noting that “Nigeria’s position as the World Bank’s largest portfolio in Africa, with commitments totalling around $17 billion,” underscores the global lender’s vested interest in the country’s success.
On the energy front, Diagana applauded Nigeria’s leadership on the M300 initiative a pan-African drive to expand energy access to 300 million people and urged expedited implementation of social welfare strategies.
“We urge faster implementation of social protection measures, particularly targeted cash transfers,” he said, referencing earlier conversations with World Bank President Ajay Banga.
In response, the Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, outlined the government’s core focus:
“The government’s focus remains on three key areas: improving project delivery speed, scaling up biometric verification for 15 million individuals on the national social register, and accelerating implementation of the M300 compact.”
To this end, he announced the creation of a new oversight body. “We have established a Compact Delivery and Monitoring Unit,” Edun said, adding that he had requested “a status update to ensure the nation stays on track to set new records in project approval and execution.”
The discussions also covered broader areas of cooperation, including “increased agricultural productivity, improved access to finance for SMEs, enhanced digital transformation, and broader financial inclusion.”