The Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), a coalition of over 70 labour and civil society organisations, has called for an immediate investigation into the alleged diversion of Nigeria’s $3.4bn COVID-19 loan obtained from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in 2020.
In a statement signed by human rights lawyer and ASCAB chairperson, Femi Falana (SAN), the coalition urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe the management of the loan under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
The call comes days after the IMF disclosed that Nigeria would pay an annual charge of $30 million in Special Drawing Rights (SDRs) for the loan facility, which was granted to cushion the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and a sharp drop in oil prices.
According to ASCAB, the loan, which was approved on April 28, 2020, was intended to bolster Nigeria’s healthcare sector and protect jobs and businesses.
However, the group claims that both the Nigerian government and IMF failed to ensure the proper utilization of the funds.
Citing a 2020 audit report released by the Office of the Auditor-General for the Federation in January 2024, ASCAB alleged that significant portions of the loan were diverted.
The report states that $2.4 billion of the funds was transferred to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) account at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, while the remainder was held in an account at the Bank of China, Shanghai.
By June 2020, these funds were reportedly moved to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) for short-term investments.
The audit revealed that these transactions were carried out without proper documentation or approvals and were later reclassified as part of the CBN’s external reserves.
“This reclassification allowed interest to be earned on the funds, contrary to their emergency spending purpose,” the ASCAB statement noted.
The audit also revealed that on August 7, 2020, the Ministry of Finance requested the monetisation of $700 million to support the federal budget.
A week later, the CBN approved a debit of N265.65 billion using an exchange rate of N379.5/$ — significantly higher than the official rate at the time.
The funds were distributed across three government accounts, with a 2% commission deducted, despite the funds being classified as federal 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 audit report.
“The report recommended that the CBN Governor should explain the movement and classification of the funds without proper authorisation,” ASCAB said.
The coalition also condemned the National Assembly for failing to act on the audit report, in violation of Section 85(5) of the 1999 Constitution which mandates legislative oversight of public funds.
ASCAB called on the IMF Board to suspend all charges related to the loan — including net charges, basic interest, and administrative fees amounting to SDR 125.99 million (about N275.28 billion) — until a full investigation is conducted.
“The deliberate silence of the National Assembly is aiding in concealing the misuse of not only the $3.4 billion IMF loan but also other trillions flagged in the audit report,” the group added.
