Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, Nigeria’s Minister of Finance
ABUJA, April 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed, has revealed why the country was not entitled to the recently granted IMF relief.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief, Kristalina Georgieva announced that 25 countries (at least more than 15 African countries) will benefit from $500 million in grant-based debt service relief to these countries.
Giving a clarification to Nigerians via Twitter, the finance minister stated that Nigeria does not owe the IMF and as such, there is “no outstanding debt obligation to be forgiven”.
Nigeria could have been entitled to the debt relief if it was indebted to the IMF.
However, further clarification revealed that Nigeria is eligible to apply for funds from the IMF.
She said that Nigeria’s current application for finance for the world monetary lender is under the Rapid Financing Initiative (RFI).
Her statement reads:
“It is true Nigeria is not a beneficiary of recent IMF debt relief for 25 countries. As stated in IMF Executive Board statement, the relief ‘provides grants to our poorest & most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next 6 months’.
“Since Nigeria is not indebted to the IMF, there is no outstanding debt obligation to be forgiven. Nigeria’s application for new IMF financing is under consideration and receiving attention. The new application is for financing under the Rapid Financing Initiative (RFI).”
The countries that will receive debt service relief today are Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo and Yemen. — NNN-AGENCIES
