Nigeria has called on the World Bank Group to move beyond broad financial pledges and channel its growing lending capacity into targeted investments that can deliver measurable impact in key sectors of the economy.
Speaking at a thematic session on the World Bank’s role in Financing for Development (FFD) during the 2025 United Nations Meetings in New York, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Doris Nkiruka Uzoka-Anite, urged the global lender to focus on high-impact sectors such as agriculture, energy access, and human capital development.
“The expansion of the World Bank’s financial capacity must be matched with investments that are catalytic and aligned with the specific development needs of countries like Nigeria,” Dr. Uzoka-Anite said.
She pointed to ongoing programmes like the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) and the Accelerating Nutrition Results in Nigeria (ANRiN) as examples of targeted World Bank support that are already improving livelihoods and reinforcing local resilience.
The Minister’s remarks align with Nigeria’s Renewed Hope Agenda, which prioritizes strategic development partnerships and measurable progress in sectors critical to national growth. Analysts say the country’s call signals a shift towards a more assertive and results-oriented approach in its engagements with multilateral institutions.
By pushing for precision investment and highlighting existing success stories, Nigeria is not only reinforcing its development agenda but also challenging the World Bank to make its financial muscle count where it matters most.
