The World Bank has approved a $1.25 billion loan for Nigeria under a new programme tagged “Nigeria Actions for Investment and Jobs Acceleration,” as the multilateral lender simultaneously unveiled a fresh Country Partnership Framework designed to guide its engagement with Africa’s most populous nation through 2032.

The twin announcements were made in a statement released by the World Bank on Wednesday, arriving at a time of heightened public debate in Nigeria over the country’s swelling debt profile and the Tinubu administration’s sustained reliance on external borrowing to finance its economic agenda.

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The newly launched Country Partnership Framework, which spans 2026 to 2032, lays out the World Bank’s strategic roadmap for supporting Nigeria over the next six years, with private sector-driven economic growth and large-scale job creation sitting at the heart of its objectives. The bank said the framework is crafted to help the country build an economy that is not only growing but more inclusive — one where the dividends of expansion translate into tangible improvements in the daily lives of ordinary Nigerians.

While acknowledging that Nigeria has recorded measurable gains through its recent wave of economic reforms — pointing to improvements in government revenue, foreign reserve levels, investor appetite and broader macroeconomic stability — the World Bank was candid that these advances have yet to filter down sufficiently to the grassroots level, and that sustained effort will be needed to bridge that gap.

Under the new partnership framework, the bank set out a series of concrete development benchmarks it aims to help Nigeria achieve. These include extending electricity access to approximately 32 million people, rolling out broadband internet connectivity to around 58 million citizens, delivering improved health and nutrition services to roughly 40 million Nigerians, and supporting close to 9.5 million farmers to boost agricultural productivity across the country.

The programme also targets broader human capital development, with provisions covering skills acquisition, the strengthening of farming systems, and the expansion of energy and digital infrastructure to underserved communities nationwide.

Newsworld Media Network notes that the approval follows the Tinubu government’s earlier request for the $1.25 billion facility, which was first reported in May 2026, even as the administration had separately cancelled a $717.7 million World Bank loan around the same period.