Economy
IMF questions Nigeria’s $5bn borrowing structure
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The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has raised concerns over Nigeria’s plan to secure up to $5 billion in external financing through a derivatives-based arrangement with the First Abu Dhabi Bank in the United Arab Emirates.
The warning was issued by Christian Ebeke, the IMF’s resident representative in Nigeria, who told journalists that such financial structures are often complex and lack transparency in their terms.
According to him, similar transactions in other countries have raised red flags due to limited disclosure and difficulty in fully assessing the obligations involved.
“Our view is that the transaction in these types of structures carry risks. Usually they are opaque, so the terms are not always very transparent when we reviewed these instruments across countries,” Ebeke said.
He advised that Nigeria consider more conventional funding options, including Eurobonds or concessional loans, which he said tend to offer clearer terms and lower risk exposure for sovereign borrowers.
The development comes as Nigeria continues to ramp up external borrowing to finance its fiscal needs and infrastructure plans. On March 31, the National Assembly approved President Bola Tinubu’s request for $6 billion in external loans.
As part of the approval process, the president specifically sought backing for a structured Total Return Swap (TRS) arrangement of up to $5 billion with First Abu Dhabi Bank.
The federal government has argued that the funds would support budget implementation, infrastructure development, and the refinancing of more expensive domestic and external debts.
However, the IMF’s comments add to ongoing global scrutiny of complex sovereign financing arrangements, particularly those involving derivatives-based instruments that can obscure the true cost of borrowing.
Nigeria’s public debt stock currently stands at about $110.3 billion (approximately N159.2 trillion as of December 2025), underscoring concerns about debt sustainability as new borrowing plans expand.
Five states will receive $3 million each in performance-based grants under the World Bank-supported HOPE Governance Programme after meeting key requirements aimed at improving budget planning and transparency in the education and primary healthcare sectors.
The National Coordinator of the programme, Dr. Assad Hassan, announced this on Tuesday at a retreat in Abuja attended by Commissioners, Permanent Secretaries and Directors of Budget and Planning from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
He said the incentive payments, amounting to $27 million, are tied to the successful implementation of specific governance reforms verified by an independent assessment team engaged by the programme.
According to Hassan, Bayelsa, Borno, Kano, Kebbi and Yobe states emerged as the top performers after meeting two major reform targets relating to budget planning for basic education and primary healthcare. Each of the five states qualified for $1.5 million under each target, bringing their total reward to $3 million.
He explained that the reforms required participating states to introduce standard guidelines for preparing and submitting annual work plans for education and primary healthcare budgets within the prescribed timeline.
Nine states also qualified for another round of incentives after ensuring that their local governments adopted harmonised budget guidelines and a uniform chart of accounts.
The benefiting states are Adamawa, Bayelsa, Borno, Delta, Gombe, Kano, Plateau, Taraba and Yobe, with each receiving $500,000.
In another category, 15 states met the conditions for publishing their 2025 Citizens’ Budgets for basic education and primary healthcare, making them eligible for grants of $500,000 each.
The states are Abia, Bayelsa, Borno, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Jigawa, Kano, Kebbi, Kogi, Nasarawa, Ondo, Plateau and Yobe.
Hassan said many states were unable to benefit because they failed to complete the required reforms before the deadline, did not satisfy key assessment conditions or failed to make the required documents available on their official websites.
“The disbursement is based on the findings and recommendations of the Interim Independent Verification Agent, which assessed the performance of states in meeting the Year Zero Disbursement-Linked Indicators,” he said.
He noted that the programme had also identified weaknesses that slowed implementation in several states, particularly the absence of effective coordination among relevant government institutions, which affected ownership of the reforms and their long-term sustainability.
The National Coordinator disclosed that the second phase of the Year Zero verification exercise is expected to be completed by July this year.
He said preparations had already begun for a comprehensive capacity-building programme that would provide technical support to states to improve their performance in subsequent assessments.
According to him, the HOPE Governance Programme is designed to improve how public funds are managed in basic education and primary healthcare by promoting transparency, strengthening accountability and ensuring that money allocated to the two sectors is used more effectively.
He added that the programme also supports better planning and implementation of annual budgets while helping governments address shortages of teachers and primary healthcare workers through improved recruitment and deployment.
The HOPE Governance Programme is a $500 million initiative supported by the World Bank to strengthen financing, accountability and service delivery in Nigeria’s basic education and primary healthcare sectors across the federal, state and local government levels.
Dollar To Naira Exchange Rate
The Black Market Dollar-to-Naira Exchange Rate for 30th June 2026 Can Be Accessed Below.
NOTE: The exchange rate changes hourly. It depends on the volume of dollars available and the Demand. This means…you can buy or sell 1 dollar at a certain rate, and the price can change (high or low) within hours.
The official naira black market exchange rate in Nigeria today, including the Black Market rates, Bureau De Change (BDC), and CBN rates.
Please note that the exchange rate is subject to hourly fluctuations influenced by the supply and demand of dollars in the market.
What’s the dollar to naira black market today, 30th June 2026?
The exchange rate for a dollar to naira at Lagos Parallel Market (Black Market) players sell a dollar for ₦1400 and buy at ₦1387 on Tuesday, 30th June, 2026, according to sources at Bureau De Change (BDC).
Please note that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) does not recognize the parallel market (black market), as it has directed individuals who want to engage in Forex to approach their respective banks.
Dollar to Naira Black Market Rate Today
Dollar to Naira (USD to NGN) Black Market Exchange Rate Today
Selling Rate ₦1400
Buying Rate ₦1387
Dollar to Naira CBN Rate Today
Dollar to Naira (USD to NGN) CBN Rate Today
Highest Rate ₦1390
Lowest Rate ₦1377
Meta explained that users will only be reachable if someone knows their exact username, adding that there will be no public directory or search suggestions for discovering accounts.
Global messaging app, WhatsApp, has announced a major privacy update that will allow users to connect with others without revealing their phone numbers, as the messaging platform prepares to introduce unique usernames globally.
The Meta-owned messaging service disclosed on Monday that users will soon be able to create personalized usernames that can be shared instead of their mobile numbers when initiating conversations.
According to the company, the new feature is aimed at strengthening user privacy by preventing phone numbers from being automatically exposed in situations such as joining large group chats or contacting a business or individual for the first time.
Meta explained that users will only be reachable if someone knows their exact username, adding that there will be no public directory or search suggestions for discovering accounts.
The company said the approach is intended to reduce unwanted contact while giving users greater control over who can reach them.
With more than three billion people using WhatsApp worldwide, Meta acknowledged that not every preferred username will be available because each handle must be unique.
The company said the rollout of username reservations will begin gradually over the coming months, with users receiving notifications when the feature becomes available in their respective countries.
Meta also announced that creators, organisations and small businesses will be given priority to secure usernames that match those they already use on Facebook or Instagram, helping them maintain consistent identities across the company’s platforms.
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