A high-level delegation from the World Bank, led by Ousmane Diagana, Vice President for Western and Central Africa, met on Monday with the Honourable Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, to reaffirm support for President Bola Tinubu’s economic reform agenda and development priorities.
Diagana lauded Nigeria’s recent GDP growth of 3.4% — the highest recorded since 2014 — and applauded the government’s strides in stabilising the economy and enhancing portfolio outcomes.
He emphasized the importance of sustaining reform efforts to drive inclusive and employment-generating growth. Diagana also noted that Nigeria holds the World Bank’s largest portfolio in Africa, with total commitments nearing $17 billion.
Additionally, he commended Nigeria’s leadership role in the M300 initiative — a continent-wide effort to provide energy access to 300 million people — and called for swifter implementation of social protection programs, especially targeted cash transfers, following recent talks with World Bank President Ajay Banga.
The Coordinating Minister of the Economy reaffirmed the government’s commitment to three key priorities: boosting the pace of project delivery, expanding biometric registration to cover 15 million individuals on the national social register, and accelerating progress on the M300 compact.
He announced the creation of a Compact Delivery and Monitoring Unit and requested a status report to ensure Nigeria remains on course to break new ground in project approvals and execution.
Further collaboration will focus on boosting agricultural output, improving SME access to finance, advancing digital innovation, and expanding financial inclusion.
