- As NGF, NCDC sign MoU on N3.7bn COVID-19 support to states, FCT
The Nigerian government may have commenced discussions with the World Bank and other multilateral lenders to raise additional $6.5 billion, according to finance ministry sources.
The new loan comes as theglobal shock from coronavirus pandemic and a sharp fall in oil prices heightened the country’s headwinds, leading to a historic decline in growth and large financing needs.
According to the Central Bank of Nigeria which puts the nation’s balance of payment gap at $14 billion for 2020, the Buhari administration would require a wider deficit to be funded through a combination of reserves and loans from multilateral lenders.
Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed has on Tuesday told an investor conference call on Tuesday that the World Bank will meet on the Nigerian funding request on August 6 as the government open talks also with Afreximbank for a new loan to finance its economy.
In the presentation document seen by Reuters, the Finance Minister had said Nigerian government needed $6.5 billion, as it has no plan to issue a Eurobond this year, but would draw $150 million from its sovereign wealth fund to augment revenue disbursements.
In April the International Monetary Fund (IMF) approved $3.4 billion in emergency financial assistance for Nigeria to support its response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Meanwhile, the Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding on the World Bank N3.7 billion COVID-19 response suport to states and the FCT.
Each state will access the sum of N100 million once it meets the criteria outlined by the NCDC, which include submission of quality Incident Action Plans (IAP), open an account and submit the details to NCDC on the letterhead of the Account General of the State, warning that submission made via email will not be honoured.
The funds is to enable them access the fund, which would be paid directly to a dedicated account of each state government.
The MoU tagged “Nigeria COVID-19 Preparedness and Response Project (NIGERIA CoPREP)” was jointly signed by the Chairman of the NGF, Dr Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti and NCDC Chairman, Dr. Chikwe Ihekweazu.
The two facilities provided by the World Bank to support the country’s response through the NCDC are the Regional Disease Surveillance Systems Enhancement (REDISSE) project and the Nigeria COVID-19 preparedness and response project (NIGERIA CoPREP).
The REDISSE project is a five-year project with the objective of strengthening the country’s capacity for disease surveillance, laboratory strengthening, preparedness and public health emergency response capacity. It is jointly my implemented by NCDC and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD).
This was as the Central Bank of Nigerian (CBN) said it will work towards the gradual unification of exchange rates across all forex windows.
Last week, Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed said the government would seek a unified exchange rate within the next 12 months in order to generate more local currency from its dollar inflows and manage the rate in a sustainable manner. In the presentation to global investors on Tuesday evening, the apex bank, finance minister and other government officials set out some of the details.
