Buhari to borrow from World Bank, China & Japan

This followed report that Nigeria has officially entered a recession, recording two consecutive quarters of negative growth.

The Office of the Presidency announced on Thursday that it approved plans to receive loans from the World Bank, China’s Exim Bank, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency.

According to the presidency, Nigeria is seeking to borrow money in the form of “low cost, long-term loans,” with 1.25 percent interest rates and 20-year tenors. The government will also look to the African Development Bank for assistance and plans to secure a Eurobond.

This development comes barely a week after Nigeria officially entered a recession, recording two consecutive quarters of negative growth. The recession has been accompanied by a depreciating naira, double-digit inflation, and foreign exchange shortages.

Nigeria’s poor economy has been attributed to the falling price of oil, the sales of which constitute 70 percent of the national revenue. President Muhammadu Buhari and Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun have placed much of the blame on the previous administration, which left the current administration with an “empty treasury,” according to Ms. Adeosun.

The loans are part of Mr. Buhari’s recession plans, which were approved at the Council of States on Wednesday. According to the government, the loans will be used primarily in the agriculture, power, mining development, and health sectors.