The North-East emerged as the biggest clearly identifiable regional beneficiary of African Development Bank-backed projects in Nigeria, while South-East infrastructure projects lagged in disbursement despite lean approvals.
This is according to the AfDB’s 2025 Country Portfolio Performance Review for Nigeria, which assessed the bank’s project performance, disbursement trends and implementation challenges as of December 2025.
The report shows that AfDB’s Nigeria portfolio rose to $6.2 billion across 53 operations, covering all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory, with projects spanning transport, energy, water, agriculture, health, education and private-sector support.
The North-East-linked Inclusive Basic Service Delivery and Livelihood Empowerment Programme was the largest clearly identifiable regional project in the review, with a total value of $259.5 million. The programme covered Borno, Adamawa, Bauchi, Gombe and Taraba states, delivering social services and livelihood support during the review period.
The South-East figure was driven largely by the Ebonyi State Ring Road Project, which had disbursed about $29.6 million out of its $54.6 million approval, while the $115 million Abia State Integrated Infrastructure Project had disbursed only about $0.13 million.
The South-East portfolio shows a wide gap between approvals and actual disbursements. Abia’s Integrated Infrastructure Project had $100 million from the ADB window and $15 million from CACF, but disbursement stood at $0.1 million and $0.03 million, respectively, as of December 2025.
At the CPPR exchange rate of $1 = N1,473, the South-East’s clearly identifiable project approvals translate to about N252.3 billion, while the actual amount disbursed stood at about N45.6 billion.
The findings show that AfDB approvals do not automatically translate into project delivery. The report published in March this year, repeatedly identified start-up delays, counterpart funding constraints, procurement issues, and disbursement challenges as bottlenecks affecting implementation across the portfolio.
In November 2025, AfDB approved a $500 million loan to the Federal Government of Nigeria to finance the second phase of the Economic Governance and Energy Transition Support Programme, bringing the AfDB’s active portfolio in Nigeria to about 53 projects valued at $6.2 billion.
Overall, the report indicates that the North-East recorded the strongest identifiable project delivery during the review period, while the South-East’s challenge was not the absence of approvals but the slow conversion of approved financing into disbursed funds and physical infrastructure.