Nigeria's government revenue could fall by more than $1.5 billion this year, as the country heads into a historic recession linked to lower oil prices and covid-19. This should worsen the already very difficult situation of the poor.

The World Bank will disburse $ 1.5 billion to Nigeria, we learned from a communiqué published by the institution on Tuesday, December 15, 2020.

This new funding will be used to implement two projects, the objective of which is to help Nigeria "build a resilient recovery from covid-19".

For example, the "Nigeria Covid-19 Action Recovery and Economic Stimulus (Nigeria CARES)" programme, funded to the tune of $750 million, will increase access to social transfers and basic services for poor and vulnerable households, while providing subsidies to poor and vulnerable households. It will also improve the capacity of Nigeria's micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

The second project, State Fiscal Transparency, Accountability and Sustainability (SFTAS), also funded to the tune of $750 million, aims to increase expenditure efficiency, strengthen revenue mobilization and improve accountability and transparency in the management of public resources.

These projects come as Nigeria continues to face a decline in government revenue and is heading straight for a recession for the year 2020. According to the World Bank, up to 5 million more Nigerians could be plunged into poverty by the end of the year.

In order to better reflect the influence of these changes on the Nigerian economy over the next few years, the Bretton Woods institution has approved a new five-year partnership framework for the West African country. Spanning the period 2021-2024, this new cooperation framework is based on four key points.

These include investment in human capital, the promotion of jobs as well as the diversification and transformation of the economy, the strengthening of resilience and the strengthening of public sector foundations through, in particular, improved management of state finances.