AfDB Group loans Nigeria $500m to support economic governance, energy transition

Orisemeke Benjamin

The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group, meeting in Abidjan, approved a $500 million loan to Nigeria to finance the second phase of the Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Programme.

The policy-based operation is for fiscal years 2024 and 2025.

“The second phase of the programme aims to stimulate inclusive growth by accelerating structural reforms in the energy sector, while supporting progressive reforms of fiscal policy to boost non-oil revenues and expand fiscal space. The new phase will consolidate and build on the achievements of the first phase,” said Abdul Kamara, Director General of the Office of the African Development Bank Group in Nigeria.

The programme will place emphasis on deepening fiscal policy reforms by strengthening public financial management systems and enhancing the transparency and efficiency of public spending; accelerate the reform of the power engineering sector to reduce energy poverty, expand access to energy, improve sector governance, and attract private investment; and support implementation of the energy transition plan through measures that promote climate change adaptation and mitigation, including the introduction of energy-efficiency standards for electrical appliances.

The Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) will also be updated for the 2026–2030 period.

The programme’s direct beneficiaries are the Federal Ministry of Power, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Office of the Auditor General, the Debt Management Office, the National Climate Change Council of Nigeria (NCCC), the Federal Ministry of the Environment, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), and other bodies responsible for social and economic policies.

Benefits will also accrue to private businesses in the form of improved investment climate and opportunities in the energy sector at the level of individual states of the Federation, and from the creation of an environment more conducive to public-private partnerships.

As of 31 October 2025, the active portfolio of the African Development Bank Group in Nigeria comprised 52 projects with a total commitment of $5.1 billion.