The International Monetary Fund on Friday said it would meet on April 28 to consider Nigeria’s request for $3.4 billion in emergency financing to combat the impact of the coronavirus. Sources said that setting a date to take the request before the board is a sign the proposal was slated for approval. Nigeria, which is reeling from the twin hits of the oil price collapse and the new coronavirus pandemic, requested the emergency funding under the Fund’s Rapid Financing Instrument. Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed is seeking a total of $6.9 billion from the IMF and other multilateral lenders. The money would allow the government to address additional and urgent balance of payments needs, and to direct funds to priority health expenditures.
The staff of the International Monetary Fund will recommend the approval of $3.4 billion in emergency funding to Nigeria when the Bank’s executive board meets next week. The loan, scheduled to be repaid in a maximum of five years, would be the largest allocation yet by the IMF to an African country to assist with the coronavirus pandemic. The lender approved a disbursement of about $1 billion to Ghana earlier this month. The outbreak is reducing demand for and prices of Africa’s commodities, while domestic lockdowns have shuttered industries and trade.
Nigeria’s request for $3.4 billion will be considered on April 28, an IMF spokesperson said. A finance ministry spokesman declined to comment. Hit by crashing oil prices and lockdowns, Nigeria requested the amount under the Rapid Financing Instrument, which offers funding without the strings of a full program, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the information is not yet public. Nigeria also requested another $3.5 billion in total from the World Bank and the African Development Bank. The oil producer’s economy could shrink the most in almost half a century this year after the collapse of the price of crude, which makes up more than haft of government revenues and 90% of exports.
