The executive board of the International Monetary Fund has approved the $3.4bn requested by the Nigerian Government for emergency support.
Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Deputy Managing Director and Acting Chairperson of IMF executive board, in a statement on Tuesday, insisted that the Nigerian Government must be devoted to medium-term macroeconomic stability to support economic recovery and ensure the country’s debt remains sustainable.
The $3.4bn loan from IMF is part of $6.9bn loan Nigeria is seeking from international lenders to enhance its efforts to tackle the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the government revenue and the economy in general.
In addition to the IMF loan, Nigeria is seeking $2.5bn loans from the World Bank, and $1bn from the African Development Bank.
The statement reads, “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 and growth plan, particularly on power and governance, remains crucial to boost growth over the medium term."