IMF may approve Nigeria’s $3.4bn loan request by April ending

The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva, on Monday said she expected the Fund to have granted Nigeria with considerable emergency financing by the end of this month, an indication that the IMF  may grant the contry’s request for a $3.4 billion credit.

The board of the IMF is expected on Tuesday to consider the loan request, aimed at combating the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the country.

“We are working very rapidly to provide a significant emergency financing to Nigeria. I expect this to be done by the end of the month,” Georgieva said on a webcast held by the Atlantic Council.

Upon approval, the fund would rank among the biggest allocations by the multilateral lender to an African country since the outbreak of the coronavirus.

The IMF said around 102 nations had requested aid as a result of the pandemic.

“Nigeria’s economy is being threatened by the twin shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated sharp fall in international oil prices,” Georgieva said in a statement on 7th April.

According to the IMF, Africa requires funds in the neighbourhood of $114 billion to tackle COVID-19 decisively.