* Nigeria's revenues hammered by falling oil prices
* Abuja seeking funds from IMF, AfDB and World Bank
* No plan for Nigeria to enter IMF programme - minister
(Alters headline, adds details, bullet points)
By Paul Carsten
ABUJA, April 6 (Reuters) - Nigeria has requested $6.9
billion from multilateral lenders to combat the impact of the
coronavirus pandemic on Africa's biggest economy, the finance
minister said on Monday.
Nigeria, whose revenues have tumbled with the fall in oil
prices, has asked for $3.4 billion from the International
Monetary Fund, $2.5 billion from the World Bank and $1 billion
from the African Development Bank (AfDB), Zainab Ahmed said.
Africa's most populous country and the continent's biggest
oil producer, which is still recovering from a recession caused
by the last period of weak oil prices, had 232 confirmed cases
of the novel coronavirus and five deaths, as of Sunday.
A two-week lockdown was imposed last week on Lagos state,
home to the nation's sprawling commercial hub, as well as
neighbouring Ogun state and the capital territory of Abuja, in
an effort to prevent the virus spreading across the country.
The minister told a news conference in Abuja that Nigeria
was one of several African states seeking the suspension of
debt-servicing obligations for 2020 and 2021 from multilateral
lenders.
The requests are part of a wider debate over debt relief.
But analysts say securing such relief will be a challenge as it
requires winning approval from a disparate array of creditors.
The IMF, which has received requests for help from about 80
nations including 20 in Africa, is making about $50 billion
available from its emergency financing facilities to help
countries cope with the crisis. The World Bank has approved a
$14 billion response package.
Nigeria's finance minister said IMF support would not be
tied to a formal programme and the funds would not have
conditions attached because the cash was being borrowed previous
Nigerian contributions to the Fund.
CUTTING SPENDING
"It is important to clarify that Nigeria does not intend to
negotiate or enter into a formal programme with the
International Monetary Fund, at this time, or in the foreseeable
future," Ahmed added.
The government said last month that spending in the $34.6
billion budget for 2020 would have to be cut by around $4.9
billion due to low oil prices and the impact of the pandemic,
which has driven down global demand for fuel.
The minister said the budget would assume an oil price of
$30 a barrel, down from $57, and production of 1.7 million
barrels per day (bpd) rather than 2.1 million bpd. "The emerging health and economic risks resulting from the
COVID-19 pandemic and decline in international oil prices pose
existential threats to Nigeria's economy, healthcare system,
national security, as well as the lives of our citizens," she
said.
Nigeria, where economic growth had been about 2%, is still
struggling to shake off a 2016 recession caused by a previous
slide in oil prices to below $30 a barrel. In the latest crisis,
oil prices plunged to a nearly two-decade low of close to $20.
Fitch on Monday pushed Nigeria's debt rating deeper into
"junk" territory, rating it a "B" and saying it expected the
virus pandemic to drive the economy back into recession. It
forecast the economy would contract 1% in 2020.
Ahmed said the government had provided 102.5 billion
naira($285 million) to support the healthcare sector, of which
6.5 billion naira had already been made available as critical
expenditure for the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control.
Lagos state, where most confirmed cases of the virus in the
country have been identified, had received 10 billion naira in
emergency funding, the minister said.
The government said on Saturday it planned to create a
coronavirus fund to strengthen its healthcare infrastructure.
Ahmed said on Monday the president had approved the fund and
said backing from lawmakers was being sought to borrow the money
from special accounts. ($1 = 360.0000 naira)