Nigeria Breaks Free: All IMF Debts Cleared Under Renewed Hope Agenda
By BAT Ideological Group
When the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released its July 2025 ranking of African countries with the largest outstanding debt, a familiar name was not there: Nigeria. For the first time in decades, Africa’s most populous nation has exited the IMF’s debtors’ list.
This is not mere fiscal housekeeping it’s a national milestone.
The path to this victory began with the $3.4 billion Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI) loan Nigeria secured in April 2020 to cushion the pandemic’s economic blow. Repayments began only in 2023 after a grace period, and were made in tranches SDR 613.6 million in 2023, SDR 1.227 billion in 2024, and the final SDR 613.6 million by early 2025 culminating in full repayment by April 30, 2025. The IMF confirmed Nigeria is now debt-free to the Fund, though annual SDR charges of about $30 million will apply until holdings reach allocation levels.
Contrast this with the years before: in 2020 the year the loan was disbursed Nigeria spent a staggering 97% of its revenue on debt servicing, leaving virtually no fiscal space for salaries or development projects. This cycle of borrowing had become debilitating.
Under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and anchored by the Renewed Hope Agenda, that cycle has been reversed. The administration’s bold reforms including subsidy removal, exchange rate unification, and tighter monetary policy created the fiscal space necessary to honor and extinguish Nigeria’s IMF obligations.
BAT Ideological Group salutes this achievement. Clearing the IMF debt isn’t just debt management it’s a reclaiming of sovereignty. It signals to the world that Nigeria can harness its economic agency, free from the shadow of external financial control.
Yes, Nigeria still bears obligations to multilateral and bilateral creditors. But today’s clean slate with the IMF is symbolic and substantive. It reflects discipline, accountability, and the dawn of a new economic chapter.
This isn’t just a policy win it’s a turning point. Under Tinubu’s leadership, Nigeria has charted a path toward financial independence and robust national dignity.
