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The board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the sum of $3.4 billion as emergency assistance to Nigeria’s fight against coronavirus. The development was confirmed in a tweet sent by the IMF on Tuesday.
The fund was facilitated through the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) to help curtail Nigeria’s dwindling international reserve according to a statement by IMF.
“The IMF financial support will help limit the decline in international reserves and provide financing to the budget for targeted and temporary spending increases aimed at containing and mitigating the economic impact of the pandemic and of the sharp fall in international oil prices,” the statement said.
The International Monetary body had earlier granted debt relief to 25 countries which Nigeria wasn’t part of, while the African giant has been desperately looking for funds to cushion the economic effects of coronavirus.
As part of its support, the IMF promised to be on standby and provide policy support to Nigeria when needed.
Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chair of the Executive Board said the shocks from plunging oil price have created a large vacuum for the country’s 2020 external financing, making the need for financial assistance inevitable.
“The COVID-19 outbreak – magnified by the sharp fall in international oil prices and reduced global demand for oil products – is severely impacting economic activity in Nigeria. These shocks have created large external and financing needs for 2020. Additional declines in oil prices and more protracted containment measures would seriously affect the real and financial sectors and strain the country’s financing.
“The authorities’ immediate actions to respond to the crisis are welcome. The short-term focus on fiscal accommodation would allow for higher health spending and help alleviate the impact of the crisis on households and businesses. Steps taken toward a more unified and flexible exchange rate are also important and unification of the exchange rate should be expedited.
“Once the COVID-19 crisis passes, the focus should remain on medium-term macroeconomic stability, with revenue-based fiscal consolidation essential to keep Nigeria’s debt sustainable and create fiscal space for priority spending. Implementation of the reform priorities under the Economic Recovery Growth Plan, particularly on power and governance, remains crucial to boost growth over the medium term.
“The emergency financing under the RFI will provide much needed liquidity support to respond to the urgent BOP needs. Additional assistance from development partners will be required to support the government’s efforts and close large financing gap. The implementation of proper governance arrangements-including through the publication and independent audit of crisis-mitigating spending and procurement processes – is crucial to ensure emergency funds are used for intended purposes,” he said.
While it is obvious that Nigeria, like other countries affected by the coronavirus crisis, needs as much money as it can get, the concern of Nigerians has been how the governments are going to use the fund. Governments’ lack of accountability in handling finances has created doubt that the assistance fund will be judiciously used.
Moreover, the cost of governance is believed to be so high that it will end up taking the largest part of the fund if it is not minimized. Nigerian lawmakers had reconvened on Monday to approve the loan request; a rapid response many believe should be applauded, if not that it is believed to be more of protecting their own interest than that of the people.
The government has been adamant to the calls to cut salaries of the lawmakers which takes a huge sum of the national budget. With the oil market in crisis, recurrent expenditure will be funded by loans as other means of revenue generation fall woefully short.
Meanwhile, the German Government has approved a 22.4 million euros (N8.9 billion) debt relief for Nigeria.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, the European economic powerhouse said the decision has been made in support of the fight against coronavirus.
“In 2020, the German treasury relieves Nigeria of debt repayments amounting to 22.4 million euros. This comes in addition to Germany’s to the COVID-19 response on a global level and the support provided by the European Union to partner countries in Africa worth 3.25 billion euros.
“Clearly, the current crisis goes beyond national and even continental borders and can only be fought effectively in a cooperative way. We need more international cooperation, not less,” German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas said.
It could be recalled that earlier in April, former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, and the former Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala were making a case for debt relief for African countries, to help the continent survive the brute spikes of the global health crisis.
The German government said it is pushing the G20 members and the Paris Club to grant African countries debt relief as part of a global effort to contain the plague.
The IMF has shipped some digital trucks of money to Nigeria towards helping our nation on the paralysis of Covid-19. I congratulate Mr. President and his team on this loan. Simply, this is a very necessary loan, and I challenge our leaders to ensure the $3.4 billion is judiciously used to serve the Nigerian people. (You can read more about this loan here)
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Tuesday approved a $3.4 billion emergency funding as requested by Nigeria, to help the country cushion the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on her economy.
The executive board of the fund gave the approval under the Rapid Financing Instrument to support the government’s efforts to address the devastating impact of COVID-19.
It is the single largest aid for any African country facing the pandemic. The fund had earlier approved $1 billion for Ghana.
On April 6, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, said at the launching of the N500 billion fiscal stimulus measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic that the IMF request was part of a number options the country was exploring raise funds to salvage its economy.
Kano is under severe virus warfare; it needs help just as Lagos, if not more. As Mr President sends the trucks of items to support Kano, he needs to send the Director of National Orientation Agency (NOA) also. I have seen videos where Kano residents were in football games, when the instruction was for everyone to be hibernating. Now, that indiscipline is going to put our healthcare workers into a panic mode. Unless we help the government, the government cannot serve us well; disregarding medical directives is never a smart strategy.
Risks to our healthcare workers continue to mount even as Nigeria records the highest number of infections. The nation recorded new 185 infections on Tuesday. To help our doctors and nurses, people should listen to simple instructions in Nigeria. We need our healthcare workers to return home safely to their families.
Nigeria’s health minister, Osagie Ehinare, on April 23, said more than 40 health workers had tested positive for coronavirus. The figure represented roughly 4.6 per cent of the country’s then 873 confirmed cases.
The minister, who stated this during the daily press briefing by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, added that apart from the over 40 health workers, there are others “who have been quarantined in the last 2 weeks due to exposure and have not been able to contribute to efforts of the health sector.”
This loan should address healthcare matters in addition to the economy. No backdoor bailout. No briefcase bailout. We only want HELP to Nigerians; that is what IMF expects.
IMF Approves $3.4 Billion Loan for Nigeria As Germany Grants Her €22.4 Million Debt Relief.
I admire mathematicians because they are very logical. In short, Mathematics – the beautiful science of numbers – brought calm to our young minds those days because it was the only subject you could challenge a teacher for 100% in an exam; others are subjective.
From Mr. Bukar (my JSS3 teacher, ABU Zaria Mech Engr) to Mr. Aham (SS1, UNN Mech Engr), from Mr. Onyezewe (SS2, UNN Mech Engr) to Mr. Ukene (SS3, UNN Math), we had men who introduced us to the beautiful field. My village has a tradition of hiring external teachers for the village public schools, supplementing the ones sent by the government.
But I saw a video today that shook that mathematical aura: A professor of Mathematics at the University of Benin (UNIBEN), Francis Osagiede, speaking on Nigeria Television Authority, on coronavirus spread, diminished mathematics. With an opportunity to educate his fellow citizens, he lost everyone! Of course, with ASUU on strike, he might be farming now.
Our faculty for Tekedia Mini-MBA (click for updated faculty) is about ready; Wale Olokodana, a Microsoft Azure Business Group Lead, will handle our Cloud and AI. Cloud computing has become exceedingly critical in today’s business sphere, and AI is already emerging to architect a new paradigm in the mechanics of global commerce. This session will focus on the promises of AI & Cloud and how they could help your business innovate and grow.
As I noted in the #Plan4Restart and State of Tech Nation video, digitization and semi-automation are going to be catalytic on how firms operate. Yes, cloud and AI will not just run firms, they will also TRANSFORM them.
Hybridized Supply Chain: Flexible, adaptive, global and local, at the same time.
Remote Everything: The web will run the world across sectors.
Digitization and Cloud Migration: The pace will accelerate.
Semi-automation: Disintermediation of humans will accelerate
I invite you to join us on this business management excursion; click and REGISTER. We have local partners coordinating enrollments in Southern Africa, Ghana, Cameroon and other African nations. If you have any payment problem, reach out to my team to connect you.