Nigeria is seeking a fresh $1.5 billion in financing from the World Bank as the country’s total debt continues to mount.
According to local media reports citing World Bank documents, the new borrowing is earmarked for three initiatives — tackling climate change, enhancing early childhood development, and strengthening household prosperity — with each programme valued at $500 million.
The World Bank is expected to consider the first phase of the loan at the end of October 2026.
Nigeria’s total public debt as of June 2026 stood at about $120.9 billion, with $54.5 billion in external debt and $66.4 billion in domestic debt.
Increasing public debt
That is according to data published by Nigeria’s Debt Management Office, a government agency tasked with coordinating the management of the county’s debt.
The total debt represented an increase of about $24 billion from the previous year.
The latest borrowing plan has sparked backlash. One of President Bola Tinubu’s main challengers in next year’s election, former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar, has urged the government to account for past borrowings before taking on a new one.
In a statement, he said the Tinubu administration ”has made today difficult and tomorrow more uncertain.”
The Nigerian government has consistently defended its borrowing, saying the money is necessary for infrastructure and improving the living conditions of its citizens.
However, President Tinubu himself had expressed concern over the debt burden at the Africa Forward Summit held in Kenya in May, where he said his government would spend about $11.6 billion servicing its debt in 2026.
That is nearly half of its projected revenue. He then called for an overhaul of the global financial architecture, which he said penalises African borrowers.
Many African leaders over the years have expressed similar concerns, saying the global financial system puts developing countries at a disadvantage.
This comes amid growing debate over the role of global financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, which were established after the Second World War to help stabilise the global economy.
However, they have faced criticism for arm-twisting developing countries through loans with strings attached, which sometimes result in governments making policies that could put the masses in deeper economic distress. The institutions have repeatedly rejected such criticism.
