The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) has announced that it has reached an agreement to spend $2.5 billion in Nigeria for infrastructure development and economic growth.
This is part of the African multilateral financial institution’s commitment to help strengthen Nigeria’s economy by emphasizing the country’s importance to the bank.
This admission was made by Prof. Benedict Oramah, President/Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank, when he led a delegation of the bank to meet the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr Boss Mustapha, in his office, according to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).
“We decided that given the importance of Nigeria to the bank in terms of share of membership, the pivotal role Nigeria plays in the bank, and also the extent of activities we undertake in Nigeria, we should be coming periodically to brief the SGF so that such briefing can be extended to the different agencies of government through him,” Oramah said in his statement. So that we can continue to receive the support we require as we carry out our work.”
Afreximbank has made about $20 billion in disbursements in Nigeria during the last five years, according to Oramah.
He explained that his mission to the SGF was to inform him about other intervention programs, such as the establishment of an African Medical Centre for Excellence and an African Quality Assurance Centre, as well as plans to assist Nigeria in starting to manufacture vaccines in light of the current Covid-19 situation in the country.
During the event, Boss Mustapha expressed his gratitude to the Afreximbank management for their numerous initiatives and support for Nigeria’s economy.
“Supporting the Nigerian economy in the manner you are, as evidenced by the initiatives you have enumerated this afternoon,” the SGF said.
“I’m glad most of these were topics I had occasion to discuss with you on a couple of occasions, especially when I had the singular privilege and honour of chairing the annual general meetings in Moscow.”
The SGF stated that Afreximbank’s credible infrastructure facilities in Nigeria will help to stimulate the economy, and that Afreximbank’s institutional framework will address several concerns in Nigeria.
He noted that, despite the negative effects of Covid-19, Nigeria’s economy has proven to be durable and robust enough to have been able to emerge from a recession, albeit only modestly, in the fourth quarter of 2020.