The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank (AFDB) on Friday approved a $288.5 million loan for Nigeria. The aim is to help Nigeria tackle the COVID-19 pandemic and mitigate its impact on people and businesses according to the report on the bank’s website.
“The loan will bolster the government’s plans to improve surveillance and response to COVID-19 emergencies, ease the impact on workers and businesses and strengthen the social protection system” the report read in part.
The revenue of the Nigerian government has been hugely affected by the crash in oil prices due to Covid-19 pandemic. The government has continued to increase its loan portfolio, which has become a thing of concern for the citizens and stakeholders. Debt servicing alone will gulp over 28% of Nigeria’s 2020 budget.
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) on 28 April approved $3.4 billion loan facility for Nigeria to aid in alleviating the economic impact of Covid-19.
In April, National Assembly approved a loan request of N850 billion for the Federal Government in addition to the $22.79 billion approved by the Senate earlier this year.
Recall that Investogist reported on 28 May, that FG is seeking an approval for new borrowing of $5.51 billion for funding of capital projects.
According to the data on FMDQ website, Nigeria’s current public debt is N28.73 trillion as at Friday, 5 June 2020
The European Union had in April donated €50 million to Nigeria as aid for the fight against Covid-19. The concern of several Nigerians is that these funds are not being judiciously used as over 80 million Nigerians are poor as reported by the National Bureau of Statistics. This implies that 4 out of every 10 Nigerians are poor prior to Covid-19 pandemic.
Nigeria has the largest number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 and deaths in West African Region. Nigeria has recorded 12,233 confirmed cases of Covid-19 with 3,826 recoveries and 342 deaths.
The Senior Director of the African Development Bank for Nigeria Ebrima Faal, said that “the proposed program will ensure that the fiscal position and the economy are sufficiently supported to weather the COVID-19 shocks, thereby limiting its potential adverse impact on livelihoods and the economy more generally,”
“The Bank has instituted strong fiduciary measures to monitor the use of COVID-19 funds, and will maintain dialogue, particularly with the Office of the Auditor General in Nigeria, to ensure adherence to the transparency and accountability of the funds”, Faal said.
Written by;
Ifunanya Ikueze
