Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, said the federal government had secured a $2.25 billion single-interest loan from the World Bank.
The minister said the bank’s board of directors had approved the credit, currently under processing. According to him, the facility offers a 40-year-term with 10 years moratorium at 1 per cent interest rate.
Mr. Edun disclosed this while briefing journalists at the just-concluded Spring Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in Washington D.C. He said the loan was virtually a grant, and a “free lunch”, noting that it was the “closest you can get to free money”. The minister also disclosed that the country was set to benefit from budgetary support and low-interest funding from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
He also said that to boost capital inflows into the country, the current administration was looking to double the current Diaspora remittances and expects a substantial and successful Diaspora bond issue later in the year. He said, “In terms of remittances, it is one of how we can boost foreign exchange supply and funding for investment in the country.
