The African Development Bank (AfDB) has restated its commitment in assisting the Federal Government of Nigeria address the power challenges that the country faces. Expressing himself in Abuja on Thursday, the Country Director of AfDB, Ebraima Faal, said the bank will support efforts to find a durable solution to the power challenges. He however, did not give further details regarding the nature of the support.

Faal however revealed that the financial institution plans to empower 36,000 youths across Nigeria through agriculture. “We are looking at power project at the moment and we are discussing with the power ministry on how best the bank can support the recovery strategies. On Agriculture, we are also looking at youth empowerment programmes, how to empower the youths in 36 states and essentially provide job for at least 36,000 youths and of course their extended families,” he said.

“On the contribution of the AfDB to Nigeria, we have a very large programme in Nigeria to match the size of the country; it is about six billion dollars. It has grown significantly over the last few years; I think we have been investing about 1.5 billion dollars a year both in the public and private sectors,” he added.

Anita Fatunji