Kaberuka, who is expected to hand over leadership of the bank to Akinwumi Adesina in September, met with Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, in Abuja.

Buhari, leader of the All Progressives Congress party, noted that Nigerian elites had a responsibility to provide guidance in their communities and lead the economy on the right path.

The west African country is facing economic challenges due to the drop in oil prices, lack of revenues and insecurity.

The Nigerian president said his administration would welcome more support from the AfDB for projects in sectors such as agriculture to create more jobs for unemployed Nigerians.

With talks between Nigerian government officials and development banks set to continue on how to address ongoing economic weaknesses, experts have called for the diversification of the nation’s economy to strengthen its revenue base.

It comes down to ‘further coordinating the enforcement of the tax regime’ between the federal government, the state, and, local governments, the International Monetary Fund told Public Finance International in an interview earlier this year.

“The longer-term challenge is to successfully position the economy on a path to lower oil-dependency and an efficient and export-competitive non-oil sector.”