Nigeria has ruled out any immediate plans to seek loans from the International Monetary Fund or other multilateral institutions, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has said.
He made this known on Thursday at the Finance Ministers’ press briefing during the ongoing IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington, D.C..
Edun spoke as Nigeria intensified efforts to host the African Monetary Institute, signaling renewed commitment to deeper monetary cooperation and financial integration across Africa ahead of the institute’s planned launch in September 2026.
“Nigeria has no plans at the moment, to approach the IMF or any other institution to borrow funds,” Edun said.
He expressed deep concerns over the cost of borrowing, saying the premium paid for borrowed funds remains a turn off for many African economies.
He said: “At the elevated interest rates that African countries pay, the premium that they pay for commercial debt is out of the reason and contributes to debt distress. There is also this discomfort in the first place in terms of the percentage of revenue that has to be given over to debt service, as opposed to health, education and so forth”.
Edun noted that Bola Ahmed Tinubu has also called for a reassessment of the high premiums African countries pay on borrowed funds.
According to him, reducing the debt premium would make development financing more affordable across the continent.
He said lowering debt servicing costs would require economies to undertake key reforms, improve GDP ratios, and deploy technology, including artificial intelligence, to automate operations.
These measures, he added, would reduce dependence on costly and high-priced debt.
Edun also urged the IMF to expedite the disbursement of the proposed $50 billion financial support for economies impacted by the escalating conflict in the Middle East.
He said: “I think the IMF has even talked about $50 billion loan support for economies affected by the crisis, and we all know that the funding will largely go to Africa, because those are the most vulnerable countries.
“And the reality is that what we’re asking for in this instance is that the funds and the support be released quickly and at scale in terms of domestic resource mobilization”.
He further stressed the need for African countries to adopt sound macroeconomic policies.
“And the example I will give is that in Nigeria, it began with removal of untargeted fuel subsidies that were costing up to five per cent of GDP,” Edun said.
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