The International Monetary Fund executive board would soon meet over a fresh $3.4bn loan request from Nigeria.

In a statement issued acknowledging the request, IMF Managing Director, Kristalina Georgieva, said the lender is working hard to respond to this request so that a proposal can be considered by the IMF’s executive board.

The Federal Government is banking on the IMF credit and similar loan requests from the World Bank and the African Development Bank to cushion the effects of the pandemic on the economy.

Nigeria’s economy is being threatened by the twin shocks of the COVID-19 pandemic and the associated sharp fall in international oil prices.