The federal government has asked the World Bank and African Development Bank for $3.5bn in emergency loans to fill a growing gap in its budget in the latest sign of the economic damage being wrought on oil-rich nations by tumbling crude prices, the Financial Times of London has reported.
The request from President Muhammadu Buhari’s government is intended to help fund a $15bn state deficit, which has been deepened by a hefty increase in public spending as the West African country attempts to stimulate a slowing economy.
Weeks back, when the World Bank sister institution, IMF’s head visited Nigeria, the media was awash with denials that it had nothing to do with loans to finance the budget. The impression created by the Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun as well as others who spoke on behalf of the government was that the government was not going to take any foreign loan especially from the twin groups, IMF and the World Bank. Weeks later, the truth is unfolding as the Federal Government has requested for2.5 Billion Dollars from the World Bank to fund its budget deficit while it would also need the IMF to give a guarantee on the loan.
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