The Federal Government is in discussions with the World Bank on three proposed financing facilities worth a combined $1.5 billion, even as Nigeria’s public debt climbed to ₦166.79 trillion at the end of June 2026.

According to World Bank documents cited in reports on the proposed financing, the package consists of three separate $500 million facilities from the International Development Association (IDA), the World Bank’s concessional lending arm.

The proposed financing is expected to support climate resilience, social protection and early childhood development.

The most advanced proposal is an additional $500 million for the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes (ACReSAL) project. World Bank project information indicates that the existing ACReSAL programme was designed to strengthen climate-resilient landscape management across northern Nigeria.

According to the documents cited in reports on the proposed additional financing, the World Bank’s board is scheduled to consider the facility on October 29, 2026. If approved, the additional financing would raise ACReSAL’s total World Bank financing from $700 million to $1.2 billion. The Federal Ministry of Environment is listed as the implementing agency.

The second proposed $500 million facility is focused on social protection. It would support the expansion of cash transfers to poor and vulnerable households, strengthen the national social registry and improve its linkage with the National Identification Number (NIN) system.

The proposal would also provide for a gradual shift towards greater financing responsibility by federal and state governments.

The third proposed facility, also valued at $500 million, is for an early childhood development programme covering all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

The programme is designed to provide an integrated package covering health, nutrition, early learning, childcare, and water and sanitation services for children from birth to five years. World Bank analysis published in 2026 has separately highlighted gaps in nutrition, health, early learning and caregiving for young children in Nigeria.

Reports citing the World Bank documents indicate that the social protection and early childhood development proposals could be presented to the Bank’s board in March 2027.

The proposed borrowing comes against the backdrop of newly released figures from the Debt Management Office (DMO) showing that Nigeria’s total public debt reached ₦166.788 trillion as of June 30, 2026. The figure comprised ₦91.590 trillion in domestic debt, representing 54.91 per cent of the total, and ₦75.198 trillion in external debt, representing 45.09 per cent.

The DMO said the total debt amounted to $120.933 billion when converted at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s official exchange rate of ₦1,379.1842 to the dollar as of June 30, 2026.

The June 2026 debt figure represents an increase of about ₦14.39 trillion, or 9.44 per cent, from the ₦152.40 trillion recorded in June 2025.

In dollar terms, the debt stock was higher by about $21.27 billion, or 21.35 per cent, compared with the corresponding figure a year earlier. The difference partly reflects the exchange rate used by the DMO in converting Nigeria’s external debt into naira.

The World Bank Group is already one of Nigeria’s major external creditors. However, the proposed facilities remain subject to approval by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors and should not be treated as approved loans at this stage.

The DMO published the latest public debt figures on September 25, 2026.