The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said the deadly coronavirus, which has caused prices of crude oil to significantly decline at the market this year, will have a huge negative impact on the economy of Nigeria, the largest in Africa.
At a media briefing in Washington, USA on Thursday, Mr Gerry Rice of the Communications Department of the global lender said this was why a Catastrophe and Containment Trust was set up to provide debt relief to the poorest countries, and the most vulnerable countries hit by catastrophic events.
According to reports the fund could have up to $50 billion for the low income and emerging market member countries of the organisation and already, the United Kingdom has pledged a contribution of £150 million.
Responding to a question during the briefing on the impact of collapse of crude oil on Nigeria, Mr Rice said, “We expect that this will have significant impact, again, on Nigeria as a major oil exporter, and particularly activity in the non-oil sector.”
Speaking further, the IMF representatives said, “So, it’s something that, as this evolves, you know, again just happened this week, we will be looking at any vulnerabilities that this may expose with the Nigerian authorities. We’ll be looking at that very closely in the coming days.”