Ebrima Faal - Afrikan Heroes

Nigeria Gets $288.5 Million as COVID-19 Response Support Program

June 6, 2020

Ebrima Faal, Senior Director for the African Development Bank in Nigeria

To help the Nigerian government mitigate the impact of the slump in oil prices on her economy and also tackle the menace of the Covid-19 pandemic, the African Development Bank has approved a $288.5 million loan to help Nigeria tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its impact on people and businesses. The loan will bolster the government’s plans to improve surveillance and response to COVID-19 emergencies, ease the impact on workers and businesses and strengthen the social protection system.

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous nation and the continent’s largest oil producer, is facing twin crises – a health epidemic caused by COVID-19, and an economic crunch largely occasioned by a global oil price plunge. As of June 5, the country reported 11,516 coronavirus cases, 3,535 recoveries and 323 deaths. The loan is the Bank’s initial response to help mitigate the slump in oil prices and its impact on the national economy. About 40.1% of Nigerians live below the poverty line of $1.90 per day and it is feared that the fall in household income during the pandemic will result in wealth deterioration for both the formal and informal sector workers.

“The proposed program will ensure that the fiscal position and the economy are sufficiently supported to weather the COVID-19 shocks, thereby limiting its potential adverse impact on livelihoods and the economy more generally,” Ebrima Faal, Senior Director of the African Development Bank for Nigeria said. Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak, Nigeria’s economy was projected to grow by 2.9% of GDP in 2020 and further expand by 3.3% in 2021. But with the advent of the pandemic and the slump in crude prices, the economy is expected to shrink by between 4.4% under a conservative baseline scenario, and 7.2% should the pandemic persist to end-2020.

Faal said beyond the country’s immediate economic recovery needs, the Bank and other development partners, will dialogue with the government on proposals for medium-term structural reforms to diversify and boost domestic revenues away from the oil sector. The Bank has instituted strong fiduciary measures to monitor the use of COVID-19 funds, and will maintain dialogue, particularly with the Office of the Auditor General in Nigeria, to ensure adherence to the transparency and accountability of the funds, Faal said.

The Bank’s intervention aligns with its COVID-19 Response Facility (CRF); Ten-Year Strategy (2013-2022); and High 5 priorities, especially “Improve the quality of life for the people of Africa”. It is also consistent with the second strategic pillar of the recently approved Bank’s Country Strategy Paper 2020-2024 for Nigeria.

Kelechi Deca

Kelechi Deca has over two decades of media experience, he has traveled to over 77 countries reporting on multilateral development institutions, international business, trade, travels, culture, and diplomacy. He is also a petrol head with in-depth knowledge of automobiles and the auto industry

Nigeria’s New Five-Year Strategy Gets African Development Bank’s Approval

June 5, 2020

Nigeria’s new Country Strategy Paper (CSP) 2020-2024, which builds on the successes and challenges of the 2013-2019 editions, and incorporates emerging developmental realities and opportunities shaping Nigeria’s political and economic landscape, including in the post-COVID-19 period has been approved by the African Development Bank (AfDB). According to the Senior Director for the African Development Bank in Nigeria Ebrima Faal who reaffirmed the institution’s support for Nigeria’s socio-economic advancement, added that “in the implementation of the CSP, the Bank will also support Nigeria to address economic shocks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic and oil price shocks by focusing our interventions in sectors that will strengthen public health infrastructure and accelerate efforts towards economic transformation and diversification of export earnings and fiscal revenues from oil.”

The 2020-2024 CSP identifies supporting infrastructure development and promoting social inclusion through agribusiness and skills development as key priority areas for Nigeria. These priorities have been selected to leverage Nigeria’s rich endowment of natural and human resources toward transforming the lives of its people. It is in this context that the new CSP has been customized to support government efforts in confronting challenges and to foster long-term, socially inclusive development. Under the CSP, the Bank will deploy a combination of sovereign and non-sovereign financing instruments to support the two priority areas, including investment and institutional support projects, evidence based analytical work in numerous economic sectors, policy dialogue and provision of advisory services. Special focus will be put on supporting the Nigerian private sector, in terms of financing and advisory services, and on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) initiatives that enable innovative, long-term investment in energy, transport and water and sanitation.

The Strategy Paper is the result of participatory consultations with a range of key stakeholders, both state and non-state actors as well as bilateral and multilateral development partners. The CSP is fully aligned with the Bank’s Ten-Year Strategy, the High 5 priorities and Nigeria’s own Economic Reform and Growth Plan (ERGP), as well as the global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As of December 2019, the Bank Group’s active portfolio in Nigeria comprised 61 operations, with a total commitment of about $5 billion. Of the total active operations, 29 were in the public sector, with a commitment of $2 billion (43%) and 32 non-sovereign operations with a total commitment of $3 billion, equivalent to 57% of the total portfolio.

Kelechi Deca