DMO Confirms FG Has Settled $3.4bn IMF COVID-19 Loan

The Debt Management Office (DMO) yesterday confirmed that Nigeria had completed the payment of the $3.4 billion loan borrowed from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during COVID-19 crisis.

This came as the IMF removed Nigeria from its Total IMF Credit Outstanding list after repaying the $3.4 billion pandemic loan.

The loan, secured in 2020 under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), was geared towards cushioning the impact of the pandemic and the global oil price crash.

However, the IMF said Nigeria was expected to make additional payments in the form of Special Drawing Rights charges of about $30 million annually.

The DMO DirectorGeneral, Patience Oniha, said the Federal Government repaid the loan in full. She said: “Confirmed, repaid in full.”

The loan disbursed in full on April 30, 2020 was granted to assist Nigeria in addressing urgent balance of payments needs following the devastating economic impacts of COVID-19.

It was confirmed that while the government cleared the principal amount, the interests and other charges are still running and would be serviced accordingly.

The latest IMF report titled: ‘Total IMF Credit Outstanding – Movement from May 01, 2025 to May 06, 2025’, published on the multilateral lender’s website on Wednesday did not list Nigeria among the 91 developing and least developed countries with outstanding credit obligations to the IMF, which collectively owed $117.8 billion as of May 6.

The total IMF Credit Outstanding across all countries stood at $117,793,823,224 as of May 7.

This figure includes unpaid and outstanding principal from both current and expired arrangements with the IMF.

Nigeria’s debt repayment trajectory over the last two years indicates a consistent reduction in obligations to the IMF.

Data from StatiSense, a data intelligence firm, showed that Nigeria’s debt to the IMF stood at $1.61 billion as of July 28, 2023.

This figure dropped to $1.37 billion by January 5, 2024; further declined to $933.03 million by July 10, 2024; and eventually reached $472.06 million by January 8, 2025. By May 2025, Nigeria had fully repaid its debt to the Fund.