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Nigerian experts optimistic of World Bank's rehabilitation support

Xinhua, July 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Financial experts in Nigeria are optimistic over the World Bank's plan to spend 2.1 billion U.S. dollars in rebuilding the infrastructure in Nigeria's northeastern region at a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari on July 21 in Washington, USA.

The funds will be spent through the world bank's International Development Agency in the form of low-interest loans, which will be interest-free for the first ten years and then accrue at a below market rate thereafter.

Reacting to the World Bank gesture in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub on Thursday, top Lagos-based finance experts said efforts by the government to secure the pledge from the global financial institution toward the rehabilitation of areas ravaged by insurgence was in the right direction.

The ability of the Nigerian leader to get such credit pledge was an economic and a political booster for the nation, Osi Itsede, former Director-General of the West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management (WAIFEM) told Xinhua in Lagos, the country's business hub.

The financial expert said the credit pledge was a clear indication of government's commitment to restoring the socioeconomic potential of the area.

The effort was not only commendable but a proactive step toward the rebuilding of the northeast from the degradation by insurgents, he added.

Itsede said the pledge was only a statement of intent by World Bank, noting that the bank would also oversee some of the specific programs to be designed by the country.

"It would only be given to Nigeria after government submits a development and sustainable program for the rebuilding of the affected areas," he added.

Itsede added that government also needed to gather some experts in development planning to come up with well-designed and articulated programs.

He said this would also help the nation to leverage on the World Bank pledge for more assistance from other international donors.

On his part, Titus Okurounmu, a former Director with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), said government could invest the funds to generate additional income if it was received before end of insurgency.

Okurounmu said the credit was a financial assistance needed for development programs that would also attract further interest of the international development organizations.

He urged the Nigerian government to effectively utilize the funds, stressing the World Bank credit attracts interest.

The former director also said the nation could not have rejected the loan because the World Bank considered Nigeria a creditworthy nation that needs support.

Boko Haram's insurgency has claimed more than 4,000 lives, displaced close to half a million people, destroyed hundreds of schools and government buildings and devastated an already ravaged economy in the northeast of Nigeria, one of the country's poorest regions. Endit