The American billionaire stated that his Gates Foundation will cease operations following the distribution of his fortune.
On Thursday, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced that Nigeria has completely settled its $3.4 billion loan, which was borrowed in April 2020.
The funds were released through the Rapid Financing Instrument, aimed at assisting with the mitigation of the effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the significant decline in oil prices.
A representative from the IMF informed PREMIUM TIMES on Thursday afternoon that the country is still required to make ekstrapayments equivalent to approximately $30 million per year in Special Drawing Rights charges.
As of April 30, 2025, Nigeria has completely settled its debt for approximately US$3.4 billion, which was borrowed and obtained in April 2020.
International Monetary Fund
“The IMF provided funds through the Rapid Financing Instrument to assist with mitigating the effects of both the COVID-19 pandemic and the significant decline in oil prices,” stated the spokesperson.
Nigeria is anticipated to fulfill tambahanfinancial obligations amounting to approximately $30 million each year in the form of Special Drawing Rights fees.
Consistent with the provisions set forth in the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, such fees are imposed at the SDR interest rate, recalculated every Monday. These fees sasaran the gap between Nigeria’s current SDR holdings (SDR 3,164 million), equivalent to US$4.3 billion, and its total accumulated SDR allocations (SDR 4,027 million), amounting to US$5.5 billion.
The IMF stated that the net payments for these charges cease once Nigeria’s Special Drawing Rights holdings attain the level of the cumulative allocation.
The Special Drawing Rights (SDR) is not a currency; instead, it serves as an international reserve asset with its value derived from a collection of five major currencies—the US dollar, euro, Chinese renminbi, Japanese yen, and British pound sterling.
The IMF stated that the SDR was established in 1969 as an additional international reserve asset because at that time, currencies were pegged to the value of gold, with the U.S. dollar serving as the primary global reserve currency.
Background
At the beginning of this week, an IMF publication named “Total IMF Credit Outstanding – Movements from May 1, 2025 to May 6, 2025,” which was posted on their official site, listed all borrowers.
As of May 6th, Nigeria did not appear in the list of borrowers. The fund had extended loans totaling $117,797,656,224 to 91 developing and least-developed nations.
Otega Ogra, who serves as the senior special assistant on digital and new media for President Bola Tinubu, tweeted on Wednesday regarding the repayment. He stated that Nigeria is now well-positioned to enhance its financial standing.
The president’s assistant noted that upcoming meetings will be proactive rather than reactive and will emphasize collaboration.
On Thursday, former presidential assistant Tolu Ogunlesi pointed out that the five-year payment term had been fulfilled under the present government, consistent with the established conditions.
“The $3.4 billion (equal to 2.4545 billion Special Drawing Rights [SDR]; constituting 100% of our SDR quota) aid for COVID-19 provided by the IMF to @NigeriaGov through the Fund’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) has now been completely reimbursed according to the conditions set forth in the accord,” he posted on Twitter.
The repayment term spans 5 years, specifically from 2020 to 2025, with a moratorium of 3.25 years, which provided us a grace period up until the third quarter of 2023 before repayments were due. BAT adhered strictly to these conditions, and by May 2025, the loan was completely paid off. Nigeria hasn’t faltered; we have not defaulted.
Here’s how the repayment schedule appears based on information from the @IMFNews situs web: As of June 30, 2023, the outstanding amount stands at $2,454,500,000.”
December 31, 2023: 1,840,875,000; June 30, 2024: 1,227,250,000; March 31, 2025: 306,810,000; May 7, 2025: 0.
On Thursday evening, Christian Ebeke, who represents the IMF in Nigeria, issued an independent statement confirming the specifics of the repayment.
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