Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), a coalition of 70 labour and civil society organisations (CSOs), has called on Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to investigate the alleged misappropriation of the $3.4 billion loan obtained from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) during the COVID-19 crisis.
Gatekeepers News reports that the group made the call in a statement issued on May 8 and signed by Femi Falana, human rights lawyer and chairman of ASCAB.
On May 8, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) disclosed that Nigeria would be required to pay $30 million annually in Special Drawing Rights (SDR) charges for the loan acquired in 2020 to counter the effects of the pandemic and a decline in oil prices.
The group said earlier investigations alleged the funds were diverted.
The statement reads, “In view of the foregoing, the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) hereby calls on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to investigate the criminal diversion of the $3.4 billion loan obtained by Nigeria to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“We also call on the IMF Board to probe the deliberate refusal of its Management to ensure that the emergency funds were used for their intended purposes.”
The group also urged IMF to “suspend the collection of the scheduled charges, including net charges, basic interest and administrative fees, amounting to SDR 125.99 million (N275.28 billion) pending the conclusion of its investigation.”
Nigeria had in 2020, requested the full value of its IMF quota, $3.4 billion to address urgent health and economic needs, and IMF board approved the loan on April 28, 2020, as part of emergency support to stabilize Nigeria’s economy and protect jobs.
However, ASCAB alleged that neither the Nigerian government nor the IMF ensured that the funds were used as intended. Citing a 2020 audit report released by the Office of the Auditor-General in January 2024, the coalition pointed to several financial irregularities.
According to the statement; $2.4 billion of the loan was first moved to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, while the remainder was sent to the CBN’s account at the Bank of China in Shanghai.
The funds were subsequently invested in short-term instruments through the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC), without proper documentation or approval from Federal Government or CBN’s Investment Committee.
The audit stated that these actions resulted in the funds being reclassified as part of the CBN’s external reserves rather than as federal government assets. This reclassification allowed the money to earn interest, contradicting the loan’s original purpose for emergency relief.
Further findings from the report revealed that on August 7, 2020, the Ministry of Finance requested the monetisation of $700 million to support the national budget. One week later, the CBN debited N265.65 billion using an exchange rate of N379.5/$—above the official rate of N360.5/$ at the time.
The group said, “The funds were credited to three separate accounts: N252 billion to the COVID-19 Public Sector Account, N13.3 billion to the Forex Equalisation Account and N350 million to the Exchange Commission Account.”
“The audit noted that a 2% commission was deducted from the monetised amount, even though the funds were categorised as Federal Government property. At the end of 2020, an unmonetised balance of $2.7 billion – equivalent to approximately N1.02 trillion – remained unaccounted for, according to the Auditor-General’s report.”
“The report recommended that the CBN
Governor should explain the movement and classification of the funds without proper authorisation.”
According to the group; the report also requested bank statements to confirm the unmonetised balance and demanded the recovery of N13.3 billion and N350 million into the federal government’s account.
It further called for the remittance of all interest earned from the investments and warned that sanctions under relevant financial regulations would be applied if there was no accountability.”
ASCAB criticised the national assembly for its failure to act on the 2020 auditor-general’s report.
The group said neither the Senate nor the House of Representatives has reviewed the report through their public accounts committees, though submitted as required.
According to the coalition, the inaction hides the alleged misuse of $3.4 billion from IMF and trillions of naira flagged in the report, adding that it violates section 85(5) of the constitution, which mandates legislative oversight of public accounts.
