The Federal Government has applied for a $750m World Bank loan for states in a bid to stimulate economic growth, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, announced on Friday.
She noted that application for the facility became necessary following the negative impact of recent civil unrest and COVID-19 across the country.
Ahmed disclosed this in Abuja at the inauguration of the Federal Steering Committees of the Nigeria COVID-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus, also known as N-CARES.
She said, “The Federal Government is in the process of accessing a World Bank loan of $750m on behalf of the states to stimulate the local economy and support vulnerable households’ consumption.”
On the civil unrest and COVID-19 impact in Nigeria, the finance minister said the consequences would be dire if government ignored the root cause of rising anomaly in Nigeria.
“We must, therefore, fashion out ways of ensuring that post COVID-19 is not injurious to the Nigerian people and the economy,” Ahmed stated.
