The Federal Government of Nigeria has received $3.4 billion emergency fund it requested from the International Monetary Fund, IMF, CNBC reports.
The emergency fund which was approved by the IMF Board on April 28, comes under the Rapid Financing Instrument, RFI, is to assist Nigeria’s fight against COVID-19 and to resolve urgent balance of payment needs.
Kristalina Georgieva, IMF managing director, told CNBC Africa that the $3.4 billion had been credited to the account of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
She, however, said there was need for all receivers of the emergency fund in Nigeria to ‘keep receipts’ of expenditure as IMF cannot afford to have credibility and accountability take back seats in the course of the COVID-19 crisis.
According to her, Nigeria had already met and exceeded the safeguards for the disbursement of the funds, which comes few days after the IMF board’s approval.
“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 said across Africa, countries are trying to build buffers to strengthen their economies, and for Nigeria, it is through collection of taxes.
She advised Nigeria to use the COVID-19 crisis to transform into 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.