Photo: Houses submerged by flooding in Makurdi, Benue State (file photo) — Achakpa via Wikimedia Commons
The World Bank has approved $500 million in additional financing for Nigeria to tackle flooding, restore degraded agricultural land and reduce conflicts between farmers, herders and rural communities across the northern part of the country.
The funding, approved under the Agro-Climatic Resilience in Semi-Arid Landscapes Project, known as ACReSAL, covers all 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory, the bank said in a statement reported by Punch this week.
- $500 million in additional financing takes ACReSAL's total to $1.2 billion
- The project targets 1.4 million hectares restored and 6.6 million beneficiaries by 2031
- It covers the 19 northern states and the Federal Capital Territory
What the money will fund
By 2031, the financing will help restore landscapes, rehabilitate watersheds, improve erosion and flood management and build more resilient rural livelihoods, the bank said.
Of the new financing, about $310 million is planned for dryland management, $165 million for community climate resilience and $25 million for institutional strengthening and project management.
The project is implemented by the Federal Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security.
Why the bank is scaling ACReSAL up
World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Mathew Verghis, said the additional financing would enable the government to expand interventions that had already demonstrated positive results in communities affected by environmental degradation since the project began in 2022.
The approval comes as northern Nigeria faces worsening climate pressures — erratic rainfall, advancing desert conditions and floods that have damaged farms, roads and homes and displaced communities.
Debt Management Office figures show Nigeria's debt to the World Bank rose to $20.73 billion by June 30, 2026, about 38 per cent of the country's $54.52 billion external debt stock.
What happens next
Implementation will scale up through the three federal ministries across the project states, with the bank expecting the expanded programme to lift household incomes, improve soil health and agricultural productivity, and reduce flooding and associated fatalities by 2031.
Credit: World Bank press release of November 6, 2026, and Punch report of November 11, 2026. Follow @newstweetnaija on Instagram for the day's biggest stories.
