President Muhammadu Buhari has succeeded in getting a $2.1 billion loan in order to rebuild the North Eastern region of the which has been marauded by Boko Haram insurgents.
According to reports, the first 10 years of repaying the loan will be interest-free, while an additional 30 years will be at lower than capital market rate.
In the course of a meeting on Tuesday, July 21, 2015 President Buhari said the money will also be used to resettle the over one million Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs).
The special adviser to the president on media and publicity, Femi Adesina enthused that President Buhari had met representatives of World Bank, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the World Health Organisation (WHO).
He said: “The president urged the World Bank to send a team, which would work in concert with a team from the federal government, so that a proper assessment of needs could be done.
“The World Bank will spend the $2.1 billion through its IDA (International Development Agency), which gives low-interest rates loans to government. “The first 10 years will be interest-free, while an additional 30 years will be at lower than capital market rate.
“The World Bank is eager to move in quickly, give out the loans, and give succour to the people of North-East, long at the mercy of an insurgency that has claimed over 20,000 souls.”
