FG denies plan to seek IMF loan

The Federal Government of Nigeria has said it is not considering a loan from the International Monetary Fund [IMF] as one of its funding options to plug holes in its budget. The media adviser to the Minister of Budget and National planning, Mr. Akpandem James, stated this this week , said the Government was exploring internal and external sources for loan and would consider institutions that lend on concessionary terms for offshore funding.

The federal government does not have needs to the IMF for any loan at this time, the spokesman said in  a statement.

The senate had rejected President Buhari's request to borrow thirty billion Dollars between 2017 and 2019 to fund key projects. However, the government is planning to raise N20 billion by March 2017 to help fund renewable energy projects, the first issuance of the so-called green bonds.

"We are on track to sell the bond in the first quarter, a sovereign, and could have another by the end of the year." the minister of Environment, Amina Mohammed, disclosed yesterday in an interview. The sale will also help fund an electric vehicle commuter project in the city and tree planting in the country's arid north," she said, according to Bloomberg News.