The Federal Government on Thursday declared that it has no plan to approach the International Monetary Fund to borrow from the estimated $50bn, which the IMF had earlier announced on Wednesday that it plans to use and support struggling economies in Africa.
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, disclosed this at a press briefing during the ongoing Spring Meetings of the World Bank/IMF in Washington DC, United States.
The PUNCH earlier reported that the Managing Director, IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, had advised countries facing economic pressures to act swiftly in seeking financial support when necessary, warning that delays could worsen economic conditions.
“My advice is that when you need help financially, don’t hesitate to move fast, because the sooner we act, the more we protect the economy,” she said.
Georgieva also revealed that the institution was committed to financially supporting member countries through the current challenges, adding that about $20bn to $50bn was being planned by the IMF for this exercise.
“We anticipate financial demand for IMF support to range between $20bn and $50bn, which represents augmentation of some existing problems and prospective demands from new problems from at least a dozen countries, a number of them in Sub-Saharan Africa,” she said.
But while responding to a question on Thursday, whether the Federal Government would approach the IMF to borrow from the fund, Nigeria’s finance minister, Edun, responded negatively.
“Nigeria has no plan at the moment to approach the IMF for any other such burden,” Edun declared.
The minister also told the meeting on Thursday that African nations need “extra help” at this moment.
He noted that the Middle East crisis is one that affects African countries and economies disproportionately, stressing that while nations in this region “are not creators in any way of this situation, they stand to command greater pressure than perhaps any other region.”
The minister added, “This is in terms of the threat to macroeconomic stability, growth trajectories, and their ability to create jobs and reduce poverty in their countries.
(Punch)
