Emergency Loan Of $3billion from Afrixbank to NNPC
The African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM) Bank has lent the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited $3 billion for the repayment of emergency crude.
The NNPC announced the agreement in a brief statement, saying the commitment letter it signed with AFREXIM Bank today at its headquarters in Cairo, Egypt will allow it to assist the federal government in its efforts to stabilise the exchange rate.
An emergency $3 billion loan to pay back crude oil has been signed between the NNPC Ltd. and @afreximbank, according to a brief statement.
In a statement, the bank said, “The signing, which took place today at the bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, will provide some immediate disbursement that will enable the NNPC Ltd. to support the Federal Government in its ongoing fiscal and monetary policy reforms aimed at stabilising the exchange rate market.”
After acting Governor Folashodun Shonubi of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) pledged on Monday that the apex bank would be taking steps to improve liquidity in the foreign exchange market in the coming days, NNPCL was able to secure a loan.
Shonubi said he had spoken with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, who was worried about the market and its effect on the country.
The interim CBN governor explained that he agrees with the general consensus that speculative demand is largely responsible for market fluctuations, and that he is confident that the forthcoming measures will have a major effect on the market.
Since the Tinubu administration ended petrol subsidy and unified all segments of the foreign exchange market, the naira has significantly depreciated. Since then, the dollar’s value in naira has increased, from about 451/naira to 785/dollar.
The effects of the exchange rate and inflation on Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) aka petrol prices are being closely monitored, as President Tinubu stated in a nationwide broadcast on July 31.
We are also keeping an eye on inflation and currency fluctuations and their potential impact on petrol prices. We will step in if it becomes necessary. According to what Tinubu had promised, “a new and glorious dawn” was just around the corner.
