The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has secured a $3 billion Emergency Crude Repayment Loan from the African Export-Import Bank (AFREXIM) Bank.
In a short statement disclosing the deal, the NNPCL said the commitment letter, which was signed at AFREXIM Bank’s headquarters in Cairo, Egypt, on Wednesday, will enable it to support the Federal Government in its ongoing fiscal and monetary policy reforms aimed at stabilizing the exchange rate market.
The short statement reads, “The NNPC Ltd. and @afreximbank have jointly signed a commitment letter and term sheet for an emergency $3 billion crude oil repayment loan.” 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 stabilizing the exchange rate market.”
The NNPCL loan deal comes after the acting Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Folashodun Shonubi, on Monday promised that the apex bank would, in the next few days, be taking steps to improve liquidity in the foreign exchange market.
Shonubi disclosed that he had met with President Bola Tinubu, whom he said voiced his concern regarding developments in the market and their impact on Nigerians.
The acting CBN governor shared his belief that the changes in the market are driven mostly by speculative demand and was confident that the steps that will be implemented soon will significantly impact the market.
The naira has seen a significant decline since the Tinubu administration ended the petrol subsidy and unified all segments of the foreign exchange market. The exchange rate of a dollar to naira has since risen from around 451 naira to a dollar to 785 naira.
