Nigeria gets loan of 3.4 billion from IMF with 1 percent interest

International Monetary Fund (IMF), has disbursed the sum of 3.4 billion dollars to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). The sum was given after the approval of the IMF board which was held one week before.

This emergency fund, which is a Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), was approved by the IMF on April 28, 2020, to help Nigeria mitigate the devastating impact of the coronavirus pandemic and also to sort out the balance of payment issues.

This was disclosed by the Managing Director of IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, during an interview on Tuesday, May 5, 2020.

Georgieva has also shared this information on Twitter.

We support #Nigeria's efforts to limit the effect of #COVID19 and the sharp fall of oil prices. The US$3.4 billion approved by our Board is the largest IMF COVID-19 emergency financing provided to-date. It will help Nigeria free up more resources to protect lives and livelihoods. https://t.co/kc3U0uVO7J

— Kristalina Georgieva (@KGeorgieva) April 28, 2020

In her statement, Kristalina Georgieva said, "We have already disbursed the money to Nigeria. In emergency assistance, once the board approves, we disburse within days to the country and it goes to the Central Bank in dollars before it's converted to naira for the Federal Government's use."

"The conditions are quite favorable. The repayment period is five years, up to two and a half years is a grace period and the interest on the loan is 1 percent," she added.