Nigeria has fully repaid the $3.4 billion emergency loan it received from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to cushion the economic shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the plunge in global oil prices in 2020.
The IMF disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, noting that the final repayment was made on April 30, 2025.
The repayment, made in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)—a basket of international reserve currencies—was completed in three tranches over three years: SDR613.62 million in 2023, SDR1.22 billion in 2024, and SDR613.62 million in 2025.
Despite the full loan repayment, the IMF said Nigeria will continue to pay annual SDR charges amounting to about $30 million.
These charges represent the cost of borrowing from the Fund and are based on the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings and its cumulative allocation.
“Nigeria is expected to honour additional payments in the form of Special Drawing Rights charges of about US$30 million annually,” the IMF said.
“In line with the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, these charges apply to the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings (SDR 3,164 million) and its cumulative SDR allocation (SDR 4,027 million).”
The annual charge will remain in place until Nigeria’s SDR holdings match its cumulative allocation, the IMF explained.
Nigeria secured the Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) facility in April 2020 at the height of the pandemic, which plunged the country into economic distress, compounded by a historic fall in global oil prices.
The facility was designed to help member countries address urgent balance-of-payments needs.
The IMF’s confirmation of Nigeria’s repayment comes amid ongoing scrutiny of the country’s external borrowings and fiscal policies, with analysts calling for more transparency and accountability in debt management.
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