The Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Kristalina Georgieva on Monday said she expected the Fund to have granted Nigeria with considerable emergency financing by the end of this month, an indication that the IMF would likely offer Africa’s biggest economy’s request for a $3.4 billion credit.
“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,” Georgieva said on a webcast held by the Atlantic Council.
Upon approval, the fund would rank among the biggest allocations by the multilateral lender to an African country since the outbreak of the coronavirus.
The IMF said around 102 nations had requested aid as a result of the pandemic.
“Nigeria’s economy is being threatened by the twin shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated sharp fall in international oil prices,” Georgieva said in a statement on 7th April.
According to the IMF, Africa requires funds in the neighbourhood of $114 billion to tackle COVID-19 decisively.