ANEEJ calls on CBN to publish $3.35bn IMF fund details

The Africa Network for Environment and Economic Justice (ANEEJ) has called on the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to publish details of the allocation and utilisation of the $3.35 billion Special Drawing Rights (SDR) fund allocated to Nigeria by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

This was just as the group also urged the National Assembly (NASS) to exercise its constitutional role of oversight over the Apex Bank and other agencies saddled with the responsibility of debt management in the country.

The Acting Executive Director of ANEEJ, Mr Leo Atakpu, who disclosed this to journalists in Benin City, Edo State, said: “The SDR is a facility from the IMF for member countries that are facing liquidity issues.

“The fund is not a loan. It is a grant to countries to help them overcome challenges at the time they are released.”

Continuing, Atakpu said Nigeria got its share of $3.35 billion in 2021 and was domiciled in the CBN.

He stated that ANEEJ is, however, concerned that the CBN is yet to explain to Nigerians how it has utilised the fund, even if they are using it to shore up external reserves.

According to him, “As a Nigerian, when I go out on global floral, we have very little information to share about our nation.”

He, however, called on the IMF to speed up the process of re-channelling SDRs through the African Development Bank for the development of social sectors like education, health, and infrastructure.

Atakpu added that the IMF and developed countries should consider the redistribution of IMF quotas on a ‘needs’ basis and not on GDP, noting that the move would help developing countries cope with the crises they currently face.

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