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Abidjan, Ivory Coast – November 28, 2025 – The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group has approved a $500 million loan facility for Nigeria to finance the second phase of the Federal Government’s Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Programme (EGET-SP).
The approval was announced by Abdul Kamara, Director-General of the AfDB’s Nigeria Country Department, in an official statement published on the bank’s website on November 26, 2025. According to Kamara, the policy-based operation will run across the 2024 and 2025 fiscal years and is designed to deepen structural reforms, strengthen energy systems, and expand the fiscal space necessary for inclusive, resilient growth.
This new financing builds directly on the achievements of the first phase of the programme, which was approved in August 2024. The second phase places particular emphasis on accelerating the mobilisation of non-oil revenues and advancing far-reaching reforms in the power sector.
The programme is structured around three core pillars:
Strengthening fiscal governance through enhanced public financial management systems, greater transparency in budgeting and procurement, improved debt management, and more efficient revenue administration.
Transforming the power sector by reducing energy poverty, expanding access to electricity, improving regulatory oversight, attracting private investment, and promoting public-private partnerships in generation, transmission, and distribution.
Supporting the implementation of Nigeria’s National Energy Transition Plan, including climate adaptation measures, the introduction of mandatory energy-efficiency standards, the development of green infrastructure, and the updating of the country’s Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for the 2026–2030 period under the Paris Agreement.
Key direct beneficiaries include the Federal Ministries of Power, Finance, and Environment; the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation; the Debt Management Office (DMO); the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC); and the National Council on Climate Change. Private businesses, especially small and medium enterprises across the country, are expected to gain from a more predictable investment climate, reduced energy costs, and expanded opportunities for public-private partnerships in renewable energy and infrastructure.
As of October 31, 2025, the AfDB’s active portfolio in Nigeria stood at 52 operations with a total value of $5.1 billion, making Nigeria the bank’s largest country portfolio in Africa.
The approval comes at a pivotal moment for Nigeria’s economy. Despite persistent challenges including high inflation, currency volatility, and chronic power shortages, the government has sustained an ambitious reform agenda since mid-2023. Early results from the first phase of the programme include stronger non-oil revenue performance, improved transparency in public procurement, and the unbundling of additional electricity distribution companies to enable private participation.
Energy sector reforms supported under this second phase are expected to help close Nigeria’s massive electricity supply gap, currently estimated at over 20,000 megawatts. Measures such as cost-reflective tariffs, independent regulation, and incentives for off-grid and mini-grid solutions are intended to attract billions of dollars in private capital while extending reliable power to millions of households and businesses currently dependent on expensive and polluting diesel generators.
On the climate front, the financing will accelerate the rollout of energy-efficiency labelling and standards for household appliances and industrial equipment, support the development of solar mini-grids in rural areas, and fund preparatory work for Nigeria’s updated NDC submission ahead of COP31 in 2026.
Economists and development partners have welcomed the approval. The combination of budget support tied to measurable policy actions is seen as a strong signal of international confidence in Nigeria’s reform trajectory, while the explicit focus on energy transition aligns with global efforts to support just and equitable pathways to net-zero in emerging economies.
With this latest facility, the African Development Bank reaffirms its position as one of Nigeria’s most important multilateral partners in the drive toward sustainable, inclusive, and climate-resilient growth.
