Uche Usim, Abuja
In a strategic effort to defeat the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed on Monday disclosed that Nigeria seeks to pool over $7.05 billion from contributions and loans.
Using the official dollar rate of N380/$1, the money translates to N2.679 trillion.
The Minister made the disclosure in Abuja at a media briefing to intimate Nigerians on efforts made so far in tackling the pestilence.
The breakdown of the fund shows that $3.4 billion will come from Nigeria’s contributions to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), while $2.5 billion will be a loan from the World Bank. Again, $1 billion loan is expected from Africa Development Bank (AfDB) while $150 million would come from the stabilization fund domiciled with the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).
The N2.679 trillion being sourced is different from the N500 billion intervention package sourced from special accounts that has already been announced by President Muhammadu Buhari.
