January 05, (THEWILL) –Â The Federal Government says it will commence the repayment of $3.4bn Rapid Credit Facility to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) from June this year.
The Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, disclosed this during an interview with journalists at the sidelines of the public presentation of the 2022 budget.
The Minister also disclosed that the Federal Government surpassed its target for independent revenue to generate N1.1 trillion in 2021.
The $3.4bn Rapid Credit Facility was obtained by the Federal Government from the IMF in 2020 during the period when the Coronavirus pandemic led to a shutdown of the Nigerian economy.
The Rapid Credit Facility was an instrument used by the IMF during the peak of the Covid-19 pandemic to provide concessional financial assistance to countries that were facing urgent financial need.
Specifically, the facility was given to countries where a full-fledged economic program was either not necessary because of the limited nature of the shock, or not feasible because of capacity constraints or domestic fragilities
Speaking on the loan, Ahmed said the government’s agreement with the IMF is that the facility will be repaid quarterly starting from June this year. This implies that the loan will be fully repaid by June 2027.
According to the IMF, financing under the Rapid Credit Facility carries a zero interest rate, with a grace period of five years and six months and a final maturity of ten years.
