A high-level World Bank delegation led by Ousmane Diagana, Vice President for Western and Central Africa, met with Nigeria’s Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, on Monday to reaffirm the institution’s support for President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform agenda and development priorities.
Diagana commended Nigeria’s economic progress, pointing to the country’s 3.4% GDP growth the strongest since 2014 as a sign of resilience and effective policy direction. He praised recent government efforts to stabilise the economy and improve portfolio performance and called for continued momentum to secure inclusive, job-generating growth.
Nigeria currently holds the largest World Bank portfolio in Africa, with commitments totaling approximately $17 billion. Diagana emphasised the importance of sustaining reforms to maximize impact and accelerate development outcomes.
The Vice President also highlighted Nigeria’s leadership role in the M300 initiative a continental effort aimed at expanding energy access to 300 million Africans and encouraged faster implementation of social protection programs, particularly targeted cash transfers, which have been a key focus of recent engagements with World Bank President Ajay Banga.
In response, Edun outlined the government’s strategic focus on three main areas:
- Speeding up project delivery timelines
- Scaling biometric registration for 15 million individuals on the national social register
- Accelerating execution of the M300 compact
He also announced the creation of a Compact Delivery and Monitoring Unit, aimed at streamlining project tracking and enhancing accountability. Edun requested a portfolio update to ensure Nigeria stays on course to set new benchmarks in project approval and implementation.
Both sides agreed to deepen collaboration across several priority sectors, including:
- Agricultural productivity
- Access to finance for SMEs
- Digital transformation
- Financial inclusion
The meeting marks another step in strengthening the long-standing partnership between Nigeria and the World Bank as the country pushes ahead with bold reforms to reposition its economy.
