Economy
World Bank, IMF Not Imposing Stringent Conditions on Nigeria for Loans—Edun
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, has declared that Nigeria no longer relies on borrowed funds for its projects, or falling behind in its repayments to international creditors.
He made the disclosure when he was quizzed on the state of the economy on Sunday Politics on Channels TV by the show’s anchor, Mr by Seun Okinbaloye, on Sunday in Abuja.
He said the federal government under President Bola Tinubu has settled about N7.3 trillion in ways and means advances to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).
The Minister stated that the country has repaid hundreds of millions of Dollars to international banks to maintain the country’s reputation with international creditors and investors.
“Nigeria is no longer living on borrowed money. It is no longer living on drawing ways and means. We have paid back millions of Dollars to international banks. We have kept the reputation of the country intact.
“We have paid back N7.3 trillion of outstanding overdue obligations. That is an overdraft at the central bank. The government has put in place a robust mechanism not just on revenue, but on expenditure to ensure that Nigeria’s money is spent feasibly, transparently and accountably,” he said in the interview monitored by Business Post.
He also reiterated that the board of the World Bank will vote to decide on a $2.26 billion loan package to Nigeria in two weeks and how it will improve the country’s foreign exchange liquidity problem.
“What Nigeria has done is to encourage the support and commitment of them that can fund these cheap loans. In two weeks, the World Bank will consider a $2.25 billion package for Nigeria for virtually free grant funding,” Mr Edun added.
Responding to certain observations from Bretton Woods Institutions like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank affected its relationship with Nigeria, Mr Edun said this was not the case.
He explained that the perception that these institutions impose stringent conditions for loans isn’t entirely accurate, noting that their financing options are concessionary.
Mr Edun added that the loan from the World Bank to Nigeria does not come with any conditions.
“It is free money,” he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange rose by 0.40 per cent on Monday, July 13, buoyed by buying interest in 11 Plc, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and UBN Property Plc, which offset the profit-taking in Food Concepts Plc, the parent company of Chicken Republic.
11 Plc gained N20.69 to end at N227.64 per share compared with last Friday’s price of N206.95 per share, CSCS Plc grew by N1.83 to N91.48 per unit from N89.65 per unit, and UBN Property Plc added 1 Kobo to sell at N1.81 per share versus N1.80 per share.
On the flip side, Food Concepts Plc depreciated by 24 Kobo to close at N2.45 per unit, in contrast to the preceding session’s N2.69 per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N9.2 billion to N2.587 trillion from N2.578 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) improved by 15.33 points to 4,311.67 points from 4,296.34 points.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors surged by 615.9 per cent to 9.1 million units from the previous 1.3 million units, and the value of securities rose by 997.1 per cent to N320.4 million from the preceding session’s N29.2 million, while the number of deals decreased by 12.5 per cent to 28 deals from last Friday’s 32 deals.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units worth N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 73.9 million units exchanged for N5.2 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units traded for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
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