Nigeria’s government is expected to seek loans worth $3.5 billion from the World Bank and the African Development Bank as it tries to finance a budget gap worsened by a collapse in oil prices, according to media reports Monday. The government of President Muhammadu Buhari has asked the World Bank for $2.5 billion and the African Development Bank for $1 billion in loans, in an attempt to fund a $15 billion state deficit, according to the Financial Times. Nigeria has been ramping up public spending to try and stimulate its economy. “If the World Bank is offering me sub 3 [per cent] to do the power, transport, road projects we need, why would I go to the Eurobond market to find that?” Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun told the Financial Times on Sunday. She said recently that the country was planning to return to the bond markets for the first time since 2013, however, the country’s borrowing costs have been rising due to the slump in oil prices.
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