The federal government has said it will source for the sum of of $7.05 billion from various sources to contain Coronavirus (Covid-19) in Nigeria and palliatives to cushion the effect of the pandemic. The figure is N2,679 trillion when converted to Naira at the current exchange rate of $1/480.
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed who made the remarks today in Abuja also announced that President Buhari has approved the establishment of N500 billion COVID-19 Crisis Intervention Fund.
The proposed N500 billion intervention fund is meant to upgrade healthcare facilities as earlier identified by the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19.
According to the Minister, the N2.679 trillion will be sourced both from multilateral organisations and Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA) Stabilization Fund. The Minister said the federal government has applied for $2.5 billion loan from the World Bank and another $1 billion from the African Development Bank (AfDB).
The Minister also disclosed that government has applied for withdrawal of its $3.4 billion contribution with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Apart from that, President Buhari has also approved that the sum of $150 million be withdrawn from the NSIA Stabilization Fund to support the June 2020 FAAC disbursement.
Details later.
