The World Bank Group has disclosed plans to mobilize up to $5.79bn in private financing for Nigeria in the 2026 fiscal year to support investments in telecommunications, agriculture, small businesses and other critical sectors of the economy.

The initiative is expected to expand broadband access, improve agricultural productivity, increase credit availability for businesses and support the creation of about 850,000 jobs.

The bank disclosed this in a report published on its website on Sunday, titled Unlocking $5.79bn in Private Financing: The World Bank Group Is Leading the Charge for Private Capital Mobilisation in Nigeria.

“In fiscal year 2026, the World Bank Group is helping mobilise up to $5.79bn in private financing to address these barriers,” the report stated.

It explained that the financing initiative would combine policy reforms, commercial investments and risk-sharing arrangements involving the World Bank, International Finance Corporation and Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency.

The institution linked the investment drive to economic reforms introduced in Nigeria since mid-2023, particularly changes in foreign exchange management, fuel subsidies and public finances.

It noted that the reforms, supported partly through its RESET and NAIJA development policy financing programmes, were improving conditions for private investment.

“Further reforms aim to deepen capital markets, expand digital trade, enable greater private participation in electricity, and improve competitiveness,” the report added.

A major component is the Building Resilient Digital Infrastructure for Growth project, which is expected to attract at least $156m in private equity during its first investor selection round.

Subsequent financing rounds could unlock up to $1.1bn by 2030 to develop a nationwide fibre-optic network. The project is expected to extend broadband access to an additional 58 million Nigerians, increasing coverage from 92 million people in 2025 to 150 million by 2030.

It will also target connectivity for 38,800 public schools, 16,900 health facilities and 3,400 local government offices. In agriculture, the bank plans to mobilise $242m through the Agricultural Value Chains for Growth project, targeting one million smallholder farmers.

The amount comprises $220m expected from agribusiness firms and $22m from certified seed producers. For small businesses, the Fostering Inclusive Finance for MSMEs in Nigeria programme is expected to attract nearly $1.89bn in private financing and support more than 250,000 enterprises.

Backed by a $500m financing package from the World Bank’s lending institutions, the programme could generate approximately 850,000 direct and indirect jobs, with 30 per cent of financing targeted at women-led businesses.

The report also disclosed that the IFC helped mobilise $1.02bn for Dangote Industries Limited and $282.5m for Indorama Fertiliser to expand domestic fertiliser production.

Together, the two projects have an annual production capacity of 6.8 million metric tonnes and are expected to improve access to agricultural inputs for over 10 million farmers.

Similarly, the IFC supported a $1.2bn bond issuance by IHS Towers, helping attract more than $1.1bn from private investors for telecommunications infrastructure.

The bank stressed that the financing arrangements were intended to attract greater private participation in Nigeria’s development. “Together, these reforms, platforms, guarantees, and investments are helping mobilise up to $5.79bn in private financing in fiscal year 2026,” it stated.

The institution added that the impact would ultimately depend on improvements in infrastructure, business financing, agricultural productivity and employment opportunities.

Equities trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited closed on a lower note on Monday, as the benchmark Monetary Policy Rate remained fixed at 23.00 per cent by the Central Bank of Nigeria. Market data from the trading session showed that total market capitalisation settled at 160,852,829,571,649.00 Naira, while the benchmark All Shares Index retreated to close at 247,736.24 points.

Throughout the preceding weekly trading period, market indicators fluctuated between a peak index point of 250,273.50 and a low of 247,736.24, bringing the period’s average index point to 248,902.51. Market-wide activity counters recorded a total of 52,891 deals, with investors exchanging a cumulative volume of 405,359,288 securities across all active boards.

Sector performance metrics mirrored the broader market downturn. The NGX Main-Board Index slipped to 10,751.25, the NGX 30 Index contracted to 9,114.65, and the NGX Banking Index dipped to 2,567.52.

Additional performance data indicated that the NGX Pension Index closed lower at 12,892.22, the NGX Insurance Index adjusted to 1,082.56, and the NGX Consumer Goods Index managed a marginal close at 4,035.46 points.

Meanwhile, industrial goods maintained relative resilience as the NGX Industrial Index closed at 10,442.78, while the NGX Oil and Gas Index closed the session at 5,993.51.

Individual equities recorded diverse transactional volumes and price movements across various high-cap segments. Premium board heavyweights saw MTN Nigeria Communications Plc trade at 844.00 Naira with a total volume of 1,769,623 shares, while Dangote Cement Plc exchanged hands at a price of 1,066.70 Naira.

Seplat Energy Plc maintained active trading at N16,000.10 with 52,474 shares traded. Financial services counters continued to attract high market liquidity, highlighted by Zenith Bank Plc trading at N129.00 with a heavy volume of 27,980,069 shares, and Access Holdings Plc recording a share price of N28.25 alongside 33,283,797 units changing hands.

Broader asset categories, encompassing fixed-income debt securities, exchange-traded products, and collective investment mutual funds, sustained their regular scheduled listings and pricing evaluations in line with official market summaries.

The Crude Oil Refiners Association of Nigeria has backed the Federal Government’s plan to sell crude oil to domestic refineries through forward contracts but warned against imposing a petrol price ceiling without explaining how costs above the limit would be recovered.

The association said forward sales could help refiners secure feedstock and reduce exposure to volatile international oil prices but insisted that the proposed arrangement must be transparent, commercially sustainable and accessible to all local refiners.

The position comes as petrol prices in Abuja have climbed to about N1,410 per litre, exceeding the government’s proposed N1,350-per-litre ceiling on the ex-gantry or landing cost of the product.

Last week, the government confirmed that it was negotiating a N1,350-per-litre ceiling under a price-modulation arrangement designed to cushion consumers against sharp fluctuations in global crude oil prices and exchange rates.

Under the proposal, refiners and importers would initially absorb costs above the ceiling and recover the shortfall when market conditions improve.

The Minister of Finance and the coordinating minister of the economy, Taiwo Oyedele, said at a press briefing that the Federal Government would also sell crude forward to domestic refineries.

According to him, the measure was expected to shield pump prices from global volatility as production increased and previously committed crude was freed up.

“Forward sales of crude to domestic refineries. As production rises and previously committed crude is freed up, this would shield pump prices from volatility in the global market,” he said.

Speaking with our correspondent on Sunday, CORAN spokesperson, Eche Idoko, said forward sales were workable in principle but questioned the proposed arrangement’s supply commitments, pricing mechanism and implementation.

“The proposed forward sale of crude to domestic refineries is workable in principle and could provide feedstock certainty and reduce price volatility. However, the critical questions are availability, pricing, transparency and the protection of existing contractual obligations,” Idoko said.

He asked whether the major industry groups had endorsed the proposal and how the government intended to administer it. “Have OPTS and IPPG bought into this arrangement? Who will administer it, and under what commercial terms?” he queried.

Idoko said the government must ensure that the arrangement did not favour only large refineries at the expense of smaller operators.

“I have consistently advocated affordable crude access for all domestic refineries, including modular refineries, not just the big operators. Any framework must be inclusive, commercially sustainable and properly coordinated by NUPRC and NMDPRA,” he said.

However, the CORAN spokesperson expressed reservations about the proposed N1,350-per-litre ceiling, warning that the policy could amount to a return to price regulation if the government failed to explain how losses would be handled.

“On the proposed N1,350 ex-gantry price ceiling, I have serious reservations. How was that figure determined? Who bears the difference when production costs exceed the ceiling, and how will the shortfall be recovered?” he asked.

He added, “While price stability is desirable, we must be careful not to reintroduce price regulation or subsidy through the back door.”

Idoko argued that the government should prioritise increasing crude oil production, improving feedstock access and reducing refining costs rather than determining the prices of refined petroleum products administratively.

His concerns come amid renewed debate over Nigeria’s ability to supply local refineries with sufficient crude oil, following comments by the finance minister.

Oyedele recently said Nigeria’s production of about 1.8 million barrels of crude oil daily did not translate into an equivalent volume available to the Federal Government for domestic allocation.

He explained that production-sharing contracts, joint-venture arrangements, production costs, and royalties reduced the volume available to the government.

“The reality is that today we do not have up to 700,000 free crude to give anyone, including Dangote,” Oyedele said during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

The minister’s comments highlight a key challenge for the proposed forward-sale arrangement: the government must secure sufficient available crude volumes while meeting existing contractual obligations and the needs of domestic refiners.

Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer of Petroleumprice.ng, Jeremiah Olatide, welcomed the proposed forward sales, saying the arrangement showed that the government was responding to industry concerns about rising crude prices and their impact on domestic fuel costs.

“I am happy that the Federal Government has decided to listen to experts’ advice that there must be a form of intervention through crude supply to the refineries. These forward sales to local refineries are a good move,” Olatide said.

He added that the arrangement could ease pressure on refiners and improve their bargaining power when negotiating feedstock prices.

“It is definitely going to help and ease the pressure on refineries and, with that, I think better negotiation, better price. It is good and shows the government is listening to what stakeholders are doing and taking the right steps, controlling the effect of crude oil prices to the Nigerian downstream market,” he said.

The government’s proposed price ceiling is part of broader efforts to cushion consumers against rising fuel costs amid international market disruptions.

However, the gap between the proposed N1,350 ex-gantry ceiling and petrol prices of about N1,410 per litre in Abuja underscores the distinction between wholesale costs and pump prices, which also reflect distribution expenses and retail margins.

MRS and other filling stations across Abuja and its environs have increased their retail prices of Premium Motor Spirit, popularly known as petrol, amid rising fuel costs.

A market survey by our correspondent on Sunday showed that MRS outlets raised their pump price by N39 per litre to N1,409 from N1,370 over the weekend.

The new price has been implemented at MRS stations in Kubwa, Katampe, Gwarinpa and other parts of the Federal Capital Territory.

Similarly, Ranoil and AA Rano increased their petrol prices by N10 per litre to N1,410 from N1,400. Nipco also sold petrol at N1,410 per litre, while MRS retailed the product at N1,409 per litre.