There are strong indications that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will approve Nigeria’s request for a drawdown of its $3.4 billion contribution to the Bretton Woods financial institution today.
Among other things, the IMF board will meet today to consider the request.
IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, gave the clue yesterday on a webcast held by the Atlantic Council. She said that the approval would come by the end of this month.
Georgieva said: “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.”
The federal government had applied for the full withdrawal of its $3.4 billion contribution with the IMF to combat the impact of the coronavirus.
Nigeria has a contribution of $3.4biullion with the IMF and it is entitled to draw up to the whole of that 3.4 billion – no less.
“We have in the first instance applied for that maximum amount, then in the process when we negotiate we might get the maximum amount or less but that is the amount of our contribution with the IMF,” the minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, had said at a media briefing last month, adding that “this will not be tied to any conditionalities.”
Reuters news agency quoted the IMF boss yesterday as saying that she expected the Fund to have provided Nigeria with significant emergency financing by the end of April.
