World Bank reaffirms support for Tinubu’s reforms

The World Bank has reaffirmed its support for President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform agenda and development priorities.

In a statement on Friday, Mohammed Manga, director of information and public relations at the ministry of finance, said a World Bank delegation visited Wale Edun, the minister of finance, to reiterate their support.

The delegation was led by Ousmane Diagana, vice-president for western and central Africa.

According to the director, Diagana praised Nigeria’s recent gross domestic product (GDP) growth of 3.4 percent — the strongest since 2014 — and commended the government’s progress in stabilising the economy and improving portfolio performance.

“He stressed the need to maintain reform momentum to achieve inclusive, job-creating growth and highlighted Nigeria’s position as the World Bank’s largest portfolio in Africa, with commitments totalling around $17 billion,” Manga said.

“He also welcomed Nigeria’s leadership on the Mission 300 initiative — a pan-African drive to expand energy access to 300 million people — and urged faster implementation of social protection measures, particularly targeted cash transfers.

“With the World Bank’s continued support and commitment to Nigeria’s economic reforms, the country is poised to achieve significant milestones in its development journey.

“The federal government’s focus on inclusive growth, job creation, and social protection measures will undoubtedly improve the lives of Nigerians, particularly the most vulnerable.”

The director said Edun, on his part, reaffirmed the federal government’s commitment to implementing the various economic reforms of the Tinubu-led administration that are aimed at improving the lives of Nigerians.

“The minister reiterated the government’s focus on three key areas: improving project delivery speed, scaling up biometric verification for 15 million individuals on the national social register, and accelerating the implementation of the Mission 300 initiative,” he said.

“He announced the establishment of a Compact Delivery and Monitoring Unit and requested a status update to ensure the nation stays on track to set new records in project approval and execution.”

Manga added that key areas of collaboration include increased agricultural productivity, improved access to finance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), enhanced digital transformation, and broader financial inclusion.

In October 2024, the World Bank warned that reversing the reforms by Tinubu’s administration will spell doom for Nigeria.

The bank explained that Nigeria must maintain its current reforms for the next 10 to 15 years to transform its economy.