World Bank donates $8.5bn to Nigeria

The World Bank has assisted Nigeria with the sum of $8.5 billion to target some critical issues in Agriculture and the educational sector. Speaking at the event, the World Bank Country Director to Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri said the amount given to Nigeria was the largest of any country. He added that it was still infinitesimal compared with the needs of Nigeria,…

The World Bank has assisted Nigeria with the sum of $8.5 billion to target some critical issues in Agriculture and the educational sector.

The donation was confirmed in Abuja on Thursday during a summit organised by the Emergency Coordination Center.

Speaking at the event, the World Bank Country Director to Nigeria, Shubham Chaudhuri said the amount given to Nigeria was the largest of any country. He added that it was still infinitesimal compared with the needs of Nigeria, stressing, however, that around $2.5 billion to $3 billion of the fund had been channelled towards education.

“Half of the population of Nigeria itself is less than 17 years old. This means there is a need to invest in human capital development,” he said.

He noted that the future of Nigeria depended on the ability of the young people to go to school, stressing that it was important to make schools safe to ensure that fewer children were out of school.

The education ministry had said that about 10.1 million children are out of school, but a report suggests it is up to 18.5 million.

Analysts have described Nigeria’s insistence on subsidies as financial indiscipline, noting that it would have adverse consequences on the Nigerian economy.

Source: Naijanews