Nigeria is holding talks with the World Bank to help it fund a forecast $11bn (£7.7bn) budget deficit.
However, Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun told Reuters it was not applying for “emergency loans”.
Nigeria is believed to be looking for around $3.5bn from the World Bank and the African Development Bank.
The Nigerian economy has been hit hard by the collapse in oil prices and the World Bank says it’s been asked for $2.5bn, with a further $1bn reportedly sought from the African Development Bank.
“We have held exploratory talks with the World Bank. We have not applied for emergency loans,” Finance Minister Kemi Adeosun told Reuters news agency.
The new government of President Muhammadu Buhari had been planning to run a budget deficit to try to stimulate the country’s economy, but the gap between revenue and expenditure has been growing and it’s now being forced to seek help, correspondents say.
Africa’s largest economy has been hit hard by the recent fall in oil prices, and the government needs to find new sources of income to fund its budget.
Last year’s government budget was largely financed by oil revenue.
Source: BBC News