The administration of President Bola Tinubu has secured $11.40 billion in loan approvals from the World Bank since taking office in May 2023, putting it on pace to surpass the total amount approved during former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure.
According to an analysis of World Bank data, the approvals under Tinubu represent about 78.2% of the $14.59 billion secured during Buhari’s presidency (May 2015 to May 2023). The current government would need just an additional $3.19 billion to exceed Buhari’s full-term record.
The figures also show that Tinubu’s approvals have already outstripped the total loans secured during Buhari’s first term ($5.56 billion) by more than 105%.
Disbursement Comparison
Of the $11.4 billion approved so far under Tinubu, only $2.32 billion (20.3%) has been disbursed, leaving $8.41 billion still available for future release. By comparison, projects approved during Buhari’s administration have a much higher disbursement rate of 81.8%, with $11.94 billion already released.
Focus of Financing
The World Bank loans under the current administration have been concentrated in key reform areas, including economic stabilisation, education, healthcare, agriculture, energy, digital infrastructure, financial inclusion, and social protection.
The single largest approval was a $2.25 billion package in June 2024, which combined the $1.5 billion Reforms for Economic Stabilisation to Enable Transformation (RESET) and the $750 million Accelerating Resource Mobilisation Reforms Programme. The World Bank described the financing as support for Nigeria’s broader reform agenda, including exchange rate unification, fiscal consolidation, and measures to protect vulnerable households during the reform process.
The rapid accumulation of approvals reflects the Tinubu administration’s strategy of leveraging multilateral financing to support structural economic reforms and long-term development goals. While the pace of approvals has been swift, the relatively low disbursement rate suggests that actual project implementation and fund utilisation remain areas of focus for the coming years.
