Why Nigeria didn’t get IMF relief

The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed has disclosed that Nigeria did not benefit from the recent debt relief by the International Monetary Fund, IMF, because it is not indebted to it.

Ahmed on her Twitter page said: “It is true Nigeria is not a beneficiary of the recent IMF debt relief for 25 countries. As indicated in IMF’s Executive Board statement, the relief ‘provides grants to our poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months’.

“Since Nigeria is not indebted to the IMF, there is no outstanding debt obligation to be forgiven. Nigeria’s application for new IMF financing is under consideration and receiving attention.”

Ahmed noted that the new application is for financing under the Rapid Financing Initiative.

“Nigeria is entitled to access up to 100 percent of its quota under the Rapid Financing Initiative. Our current financial position at the IMF is public information on the International Monetary Fund website,” she added.

It would be recalled that the IMF had on Monday announced the approval of immediate debt service relief to 25 member countries under its revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust as part of its response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The countries are Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo, and Yemen.