The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has confirmed that Nigeria has completed repayment of the $3.4 billion loan received through the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement released on Thursday by Mr Christian Ebeke, the IMF’s Resident Representative for Nigeria, the Fund disclosed that the repayment was finalised on April 30, 2025.
The emergency facility was disbursed in April 2020 to help Nigeria manage the economic fallout from the pandemic, including falling oil prices, economic slowdown, and increased fiscal strain. “As of April 30, 2025, Nigeria has fully repaid the financial support of about US$3.4 billion it requested and received in April 2020 from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Rapid Financing Instrument to help alleviate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the sharp fall in oil prices,” the IMF stated.
Despite settling the principal, Nigeria is expected to continue making annual payments related to Special Drawing Rights (SDR) charges. The Fund explained that these payments, amounting to about $30 million annually, are based on the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings and its cumulative SDR allocation.
“Nigeria is expected to honor some additional payments in the form of Special Drawing Rights charges of about US$30 million annually. “In line with the IMF’s Articles of Agreements, these charges, levied at the SDR interest rate, which is updated at the beginning of each week, apply to the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings (SDR 3,164 million) (US$4.3 billion) and its cumulative SDR allocation (SDR 4,027 million) (US$5.5 billion). The net payment of the charges stops when Nigeria’s SDR holdings reach the cumulative allocation amount.”
Data from the IMF’s website as reported by Nairametrics indicates Nigeria’s total charge for 2025 is projected to reach SDR 22.35 million (approximately $30.24 million), with payments due in May, August, and November. The $3.4 billion loan was one of the largest RFI disbursements globally at the time, granted with favourable conditions compared to standard IMF programmes.
Debt servicing to the IMF climbed to $1.63 billion in 2024, entirely from principal payments, while total external debt servicing stood at $4.66 billion, up from $3.5 billion in 2023. Multilateral creditors accounted for $2.62 billion (56%) of Nigeria’s external debt servicing in 2024, with the IMF comprising roughly 35% of that figure. The IMF’s confirmation of full loan repayment marks a notable improvement in Nigeria’s external debt position.
Source : https://nairametrics.com/
