LAGOS, Oct 13 – Nigeria and the African Development Bank (AfDB) have agreed to review a $6.2 billion portfolio of 55 public and private sector operations to identify implementation bottlenecks, accelerate project delivery and align investments with the federal government’s development priorities.
The agreement was reached in Bangkok on Monday between Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy Taiwo Oyedele and AfDB President Sidi Ould Tah, on the sidelines of the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and World Bank Group.
The portfolio is the bank’s largest country programme in Africa, making the review significant for the pace at which development financing is translated into infrastructure, economic and private sector outcomes in Nigeria.
Nigeria Seeks Greater Development Impact
Oyedele reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to maintaining its position as the AfDB’s largest shareholder and meeting its capital subscription obligations. He also expressed support for Ould Tah’s Four Cardinal Points agenda, which prioritises closing Africa’s financing gap, strengthening financial sovereignty, harnessing the continent’s demographic dividend and developing resilient infrastructure through local processing of natural resources.
The minister said these priorities were closely aligned with Nigeria’s own development objectives.
Ould Tah is expected to visit Nigeria for discussions with President Bola Tinubu, senior government officials and other stakeholders. The planned engagements are intended to deepen cooperation and advance conversations around the country’s development priorities.
AfDB Develops Support for Sovereign Credit Ratings
The discussions also addressed the cost of borrowing across Africa and concerns that international sovereign credit ratings may not fully reflect improvements in economic fundamentals and reform implementation.
Oyedele said the way countries are assessed can affect their borrowing costs, including for Nigeria, where the government is seeking to finance development while managing fiscal pressures.
Ould Tah disclosed that the AfDB was developing a facility to provide African governments with technical and analytical assistance in their engagements with credit rating agencies. The proposed mechanism would help governments present credible economic data and challenge assessments where they believe the underlying analysis warrants reconsideration.
The initiative would focus on improving the quality and presentation of economic information available to rating agencies, rather than replacing the existing sovereign rating framework.
Mobilising African Capital
Nigeria and the AfDB also discussed financial integration, local-currency transactions, trade insurance and credit-enhancement mechanisms designed to reduce investment risks and attract private capital.
These measures form part of broader efforts to improve the flow of financing into African economies, where borrowing costs can constrain public investment and make infrastructure projects more difficult to finance commercially.
The officials also emphasised the importance of retaining skilled professionals within Africa, linking the continent’s development ambitions to the capacity to build and sustain expertise locally.
Existing AfDB Support for Nigeria
The proposed portfolio review builds on the bank’s existing financing relationship with Nigeria. In November 2025, the AfDB approved a $500 million loan for the second phase of the Federal Government’s Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Programme.
The latest discussions place greater emphasis on implementation, with the review intended to identify obstacles affecting ongoing operations and improve the delivery of projects already within the portfolio.
For Nigeria, the central challenge is to ensure that the scale of development financing translates into completed projects and measurable economic outcomes. For the AfDB, the review offers an opportunity to assess the performance of its largest African country portfolio and identify where implementation support may be needed.
