AfDB Portfolio In Nigeria Rises To $5bn
African Development Bank (AfDB)’s portfolio in Nigeria has risen to $5 billion.
The portfolio cuts across 63 operations in both the public and private sectors covering many fields.
After the exit of 15 operations and the entry of six since the 2019 County Portfolio Performance Review (CPPR) workshop, the Bank’s portfolio in Nigeria has increased by $198.6 million.
The Director-General, Nigeria Country Department, Lamin Barrow, said in Abuja during the 2022 CPPR workshop that in 2020, a $288.5 million General Budget Support (GBS) operation was approved under the Covid-19 crisis response facility, while $544 million in loan financing were approved for five operations in 2021.
Barrow noted that the bank had leveraged its resources by mobilising co-financing from other development partners to the tune of $1billion.
He commended other development partners like the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD), Française de Dèvelopmen (FD) and Africa Growing Together Fund (AGTF) for their excellent partnership in co-developing and co-financing two flagship programmes – Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAIPZ) and the Investment in Digital and Creative Enterprises (iDICE) Programme.
The director-general noted that the delay in the implementation of projects had imposed a high burden on the economy and had ultimately undermined the objectives to deliver development outcomes.
Barrow urged participants to strengthen their accountability mechanisms backed by robust tracking tools to monitor implementation progress.
He added that the CPPR by its nature is an interactive process that was underpinned by the principles of partnership and mutual accountability between the bank, the borrower and other co-financing partners.
Barrow advised participants at the end of the discussion to prepare a Country Portfolio Improvement Plan (CPIP) with clear actions to guide the joint efforts for overcoming the challenges faced and accelerate the implementation of the projects in the Nigeria portfolio.
Also, Director, International Economic Relations Department, Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Aisha Omar said that the CPPR was critical to the development of Nigeria as it helps to ascertain if the value for money was achieved while projects were implemented.
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