The Federal Government said it is seeking a $500m loan from the World Bank for rural road infrastructure and agricultural marketing.
Contained in the final draft of the Resettlement Policy Framework for the Nigeria Rural Access and Agricultural Marketing Project Scale-UP implemented by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the fund is expected to address the need for better connectivity in rural Nigeria, where 92 million people currently lack access to good roads.
The policy document noted: “Nigeria’s road network is relatively extensive, encompassing approximately 194,000 kilometres of roads. This includes 34,000 kilometres of federal roads, 30,000 kilometres of state roads, and 130,000 kilometres of registered rural roads. The road density equates to about 0.21 kilometres of roads per square kilometre.
“Despite this relatively high road density, the rural accessibility index for Nigeria (defined as the proportion of the rural population residing within 2 kilometres of an all-weather road) stands at a mere 25.5 per cent, resulting in approximately 92 million rural inhabitants lacking connectivity.
“Rural access is particularly restricted in areas densely populated by the economically disadvantaged. These factors underscore the imperative to expand and enhance the rural road network, as well as conserve rural road and transport assets.”
