The Federal Government on Thursday declared that it has no plan to approach the International Monetary Fund to borrow from the estimated $50bn, which the IMF had earlier announced on Wednesday that it plans to use and support struggling economies in Africa.\n<\/p>\n
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Wale Edun, disclosed this at a press briefing during the ongoing Spring Meetings of the World Bank\/IMF in Washington DC, United States.\n<\/p>\n
The PUNCH earlier reported that the Managing Director, IMF, Kristalina Georgieva, had advised countries facing economic pressures to act swiftly in seeking financial support when necessary, warning that delays could worsen economic conditions.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cMy advice is that when you need help financially, don\u2019t hesitate to move fast, because the sooner we act, the more we protect the economy,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Georgieva also revealed that the institution was committed to financially supporting member countries through the current challenges, adding that about $20bn to $50bn was being planned by the IMF for this exercise.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cWe anticipate financial demand for IMF support to range between $20bn and $50bn, which represents augmentation of some existing problems and prospective demands from new problems from at least a dozen countries, a number of them in Sub-Saharan Africa,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
But while responding to a question on Thursday, whether the Federal Government would approach the IMF to borrow from the fund, Nigeria\u2019s finance minister, Edun, responded negatively.<\/p>\n
\u201cNigeria has no plan at the moment to approach the IMF for any other such burden,\u201d Edun declared.\n<\/p>\n
The minister also told the meeting on Thursday that African nations need \u201cextra help\u201d at this moment.\n<\/p>\n
He noted that the Middle East crisis is one that affects African countries and economies disproportionately, stressing that while nations in this region \u201care not creators in any way of this situation, they stand to command greater pressure than perhaps any other region.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
The minister added, \u201cThis is in terms of the threat to macroeconomic stability, growth trajectories, and their ability to create jobs and reduce poverty in their countries. <\/p>\n
And I think that is a clear statement, particularly to those identified as the most vulnerable oil-importing countries. They need and deserve extra help at this time.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Recall that Georgieva earlier observed that many of the countries most affected by the Middle East crisis are located in Sub-Saharan Africa, adding that the IMF was working to identify those in urgent need of assistance. \u201cWe are very determined to use this week to identify which of the countries must get our support,\u201d she stated.\n<\/p>\n
She emphasised the importance of strong fiscal and economic policies, urging governments to build buffers during periods of economic stability to better withstand future shocks. According to her, prudent economic management in good times remains critical for resilience during downturns.<\/p>\n
The IMF chief also disclosed that during a meeting with central bank governors and finance ministers from Africa held the previous day, officials did not request immediate financial assistance but instead sought policy guidance.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cBut, of course, there could be a need for financial support. And my advice is that when you need help financially, don\u2019t hesitate to move fast, because the sooner we act, the more we protect the economy,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
Georgieva highlighted the broader global implications of the Middle East conflict, noting that it has already inflicted significant economic damage. \u201cWe have been watching developments in the Middle East. A war that causes significant pain to people and economies in the region and around the world. The impact on the global economy is already large,\u201d she said.\n<\/p>\n
She explained that supply chain disruptions and damage to infrastructure are driving up prices and slowing global economic growth. According to her, global growth is projected to decline from 3.4 per cent last year to 2.1 per cent in 2026. She warned that if the conflict persists and oil prices remain elevated for a prolonged period, global economic conditions could deteriorate further.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cBut if the conflict persists, and oil prices stay high for an extended period, we must brace for tough times ahead,\u201d she added.\n<\/p>\n
On the IMF\u2019s global outlook, Georgieva cautioned that in a worst-case scenario, global growth could fall to two per cent, stressing that the impact would be widespread. She noted that countries that depend on energy imports are particularly vulnerable, many of which are low-income or fragile economies.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the most adverse case, growth could fall to two per cent, and the shock is global,\u201d she said, adding that the highest negative impact is being felt by energy-importing nations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Federal Government on Thursday declared that it has no plan to approach the International Monetary Fund to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":535916,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[84,30962,1294,1391,52205,4626,19871,185188,8720,40819,56,54,55,35565,43025],"class_list":{"0":"post-535915","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-economy","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-economic-stability","10":"tag-economy","11":"tag-federal-government","12":"tag-finance-minister","13":"tag-global-economy","14":"tag-imf","15":"tag-international-loan","16":"tag-nigeria","17":"tag-sub-saharan-africa","18":"tag-uk","19":"tag-united-kingdom","20":"tag-unitedkingdom","21":"tag-wale-edun","22":"tag-world-bank"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535915","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=535915"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/535915\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/535916"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=535915"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=535915"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=535915"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}