The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has clarified that Nigeria, while making substantial progress in meeting its external debt obligations, has not fully discharged all outstanding financial commitments. This follows recent claims that the country had fully repaid its debt to the Fund.
Nigeria recently completed the principal repayment of a $3.4 billion emergency loan obtained in 2020 under the IMF’s Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), which was designed to support countries during the COVID-19 pandemic. The repayment was confirmed by Nigeria’s Minister of Finance, Wale Edun, who stated via text message on Thursday that the country had met its obligations in line with agreed terms.
The IMF’s latest credit report, Total IMF Credit Outstanding, Movement from May 01, 2025 to May 06, 2025, further corroborates the development, showing Nigeria’s removal from the list of debtor countries on its website. As of May 6, 2025, the list included 91 developing and least developed countries with a collective debt of $117.8 billion to the Fund, Nigeria was not among them.
However, in a statement addressing media interpretations of this data, the IMF clarified that Nigeria still faces financial obligations in the form of annual service charges related to its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) balance.
“Nigeria is expected to honor some additional payments in the form of Special Drawing Rights charges of about US$30 million annually,” said Dr. Christian Ebeke, IMF Resident Representative in Nigeria.
“In line with the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, these charges, levied at the SDR interest rate, which is updated at the beginning of each week, apply to the difference between Nigeria’s SDR holdings (SDR 3,164 million) (US$4.3 billion) and its cumulative SDR allocation (SDR 4,027 million) (US$5.5 billion),” he explained.
According to the IMF, Nigeria’s total SDR charges for 2025 are projected to reach SDR 22.35 million (approximately $30.24 million), with payments scheduled across May, August, and November.
While Nigeria’s removal from the IMF’s debtor list signals notable progress in macroeconomic management, the outstanding SDR service fees still leaves the country in ongoing engagement with the global financial institution.
