The World Bank has announced plans to restructure financing for Nigeria’s $430 million Digital Identification for Development (ID4D) project to avoid cuts.
This will enable the Bank to guarantee the full disbursement of the $430 million committed to the project by financiers.
The restructuring became necessary after Nigeria failed to meet the project’s June 30, 2024 completion deadline and co-financiers, the French Development Agency (AFD) and the European Investment Bank (EIB) threatened to cancel their financing if the World Bank was no longer implementing the project after June 30, 2024, the project’s initial closing date.
“Both co-funders have indicated that they will cancel their financing if the World Bank is no longer the lead funder and implementer of this project.
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“It is therefore imperative for the World Bank to extend the project’s closing date to allow for continuity among all co-funders and avoid any disruption to the good progress achieved so far, as well as to maintain the positive impact it has had on Nigeria’s digital identity infrastructure,” the World Bank said in a recently released project document.
With the restructuring of the project, the Bank said the closure has now been extended by two years to June 30, 2026.
It said the expansion was necessary for the project to respond to the growing demand for an inclusive and trusted digital ID system that would strengthen transparency, efficiency and effectiveness of governance and the provision of public services and programs.
It is worth recalling that Nigeria failed to achieve some of the targets set for the project, including registering 148 million people for the National Identification Number (NIN) by June 2024.
The bank also revealed that the country has not met one of three conditions for the total disbursement of $430 million for the project.
By: Babajide Okeowo
ID4D post: World Bank restructures $430 million project for Nigeria, extends deadline after two financiers threaten to cancel funding appeared first on Latest Nigeria News | Headlines from Ripples Nigeria.
