Nigeria Has Finally Receives the $3.4bn Emergency Fund From IMF

• Nigeria Has Finally Receives the $3.4bn Emergency Fund From IMF

The Central Bank of Nigeria has finally received the $3.4 billion emergency fund approved by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In April, the Federal Government had approached the Fund for emergency assistance to curtail the impact of coronavirus on the economy following more than 60 percent plunge in oil price and the nation’s revenue generation. On April 28,  the executive board of the Fund led by Kristalina Georgieva approved the loan under the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI).

According to Kristalina Georgieva, the Managing Director, IMF, the emergency fund has been disbursed to the Central bank of Nigeria, the Managing Director stated in an interview on CNBC Africa.

She said: “We have already disbursed. In emergency assistance, the board approves, we disburse within days to the country and it goes to their Central Bank in dollars before it gets converted into naira in the case of Nigeria.

“The conditions are quite favourable. Repayment period is five years, up to two and half years is grace period and the interest on the loan is one per cent.”

The IMF boss said across the African continent, nations are working hard to build fiscal buffers to strengthen their economies. In the case of Nigeria, she said it is through the collection of taxes.

On Tuesday, Investors King had reported that part of the conditions for the loan was VAT increment and an increase in electricity tariffs by 2021, according to a document jointly signed by the minister of finance and governor of the central bank.

Georgieva, therefore, advised the nation to use the current crisis to build a more resilient economy.

“We have put in place policy tracking action, and we are seeing progress each country is making. The IMF will continue to support countries and shield them from catastrophic implications of the COVID-19 crisis,” she said.