Why Nigeria Was Exempted From IMF Debt Service Relief

The reason why Nigeria was exempted from the 25 countries granted debt service relief by the International Monetary Trust Fund (IMF) has been revealed.

Recall that the IMF had announced debt service relief for 25 countries including Afghanistan, Benin, Burkina Faso, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, D.R., The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Rwanda, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, Solomon Islands, Tajikistan, Togo, and Yemen.

The exemption of Nigeria from the list had sparked up speculations on social media especially due to the country’s debt portfolio.

However, experts have now revealed that the country is not indebted to IMF, and as such couldn’t have received such a relief.

Recall that the Managing Director of IMF, Kristalina Georgieva had announced that the fund would provide $500 million in grant-based debt service relief to 25 countries.

She had been quoted as saying: “Our executive board approved immediate debt service relief to 25 of the IMF’s member countries under the IMF’s revamped Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) as part of the Fund’s response to help address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

According to Georgieva, the relief was provided to the poorest and most vulnerable members to cover their IMF debt obligations for an initial phase over the next six months. She noted that the fund would help them channel more of their scarce financial resources towards vital emergency medical and other relief efforts.