FG Borrows $10 bn From World Bank In Six Months |The Source

By Fola James

The Debt Management Office, DMO has disclosed that Nigerian government borrowed over $10 billion from the World Bank in six month, the highest external debt to any development partners.

According to the Office the total indebtedness to the World Bank Group now stands at $10.46bn

The breakdown of the country’s external debt stock as of June 30, 2020 indicates that her debt to the International Development Association and the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development were $10.05bn and $409.51m respectively.

The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and the International Development Association are both organs of the World Bank Group.

Other organisations of the multilateral financial institution include the International Finance Corporation, the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

The World Bank Group and the African Development Bank Group are two prominent multilateral institutions that lend to the nation.

Nigeria’s total indebtedness to the multilateral institutions during the period under review was put at $16.36bn, representing 51.97 per cent of the country’s total external debt stock.

Also the DMO put the country’s indebtedness to the African Development Bank, AfDB Group at $5.896bn.

According to The Punch newspapers, the external debts of Nigeria to African Development Bank, Africa Growing Together Fund and African Development Fund are $1.325bn, $140,000, and $921.91m respectively.

Meanwhile, the Nigerian government said it will not seek debt forgiveness from World Bank or any other international development partners.

The assurance came on the crest of worries over the nation’s debt stock which now stands at over N33 trillion, according to figures provided by DMO last week.