By Kadiri Abdulrahman

The Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha, says synergy between the DMO and state governments is crucial for effective national debt management.

Oniha said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the sidelines of the World Bank assisted workshop on Borrowing Guidelines for top policy makers in Lagos on Tuesday.

She said that the DMO worked with the states to intimate their relevant officials with basic understanding of effective debt management.

“This workshop is part of the activities we undertake with the sub-national governments. It involves all of the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

“We work with them on debt management. It is a programme which starts with the basic of understanding what debt is, putting together a debt figure.

“They need to know how much they are owing at any time.

“This one on borrowing guidelines is to support their request for borrowing by letting them understand all the various laws that govern borrowing,” she said.

The director-general said that before any government could borrow, there were provisions of the law that must be complied with.

“We need the sub-national governments to understand the processes, the documentation and the purposes.

“The Fiscal Responsibility Act, for instance, says you should borrow for capital projects and human development purposes.

“States should understand these eligible reasons. The law talks about borrowing being approved by the State Executive Council as well as the State Assembly, similar to what happens at the federal level,” Oniha said.

She said that the DMO had noticed gaps previously in the process of processing requests for borrowing from state governments.

She said that it was a bit tedious to process the requests because of limited understanding, adding that the workshop was designed to address such gaps.(NAN)

Edited by Deji Abdulwahab

By Kadiri Abdulrahman

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has stated that the Federal Government has made adequate budgetary provisions to meet Nigeria’s foreign and local debt obligations.

The DMO disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja.

According to the agency, Nigeria’s debt management practices align with relevant legislation, regulations, and international standards.

It noted that the country has consistently serviced its external and domestic debts promptly, enhancing the attractiveness of Federal Government securities to both foreign and local investors.

The DMO revealed the recent successful issuance of 2.2 billion dollars in Eurobonds on the international capital markets, which received subscriptions exceeding 9 billion dollars.

“Nigeria attracted a wide range of investors from multiple jurisdictions, including the UK, North America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and participation from Nigerian investors.

“It is an expression of continued investor confidence in the country’s sound macro-economic policy framework and prudent fiscal and monetary management.

“The transaction attracted a peak orderbook of more than nine billion dollars. This underscores the strong support for the transaction across geography and investor class,” it said.

The DMO explained that demand for the Eurobonds came from a mix of fund managers, insurance and pension funds, hedge funds, banks, and other financial institutions.

“In addition, one of the landmark achievements of the Eurobond is that it opened up opportunities for banks and other corporate entities in the Eurobond market,” it said.

The DMO added that the growing interest in FGN bonds, sukuk bonds, and other FGN securities reflects Nigeria’s adherence to best practices in debt management.

It assured stakeholders that sufficient provisions had been made in the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and annual budgets to meet the country’s debt service obligations as they fall due.

It further stated that borrowing had enabled Nigeria to develop a robust domestic capital market, attracting substantial interest from both local and foreign investors.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, said that the successful issuance of the Eurobonds signals increasing confidence in the government’s ongoing efforts to stabilise the Nigerian economy.

According to Edun, “The broad range of investor appetite to invest in our Eurobonds is encouraging as we continue to diversify our funding sources and deepen our engagement with the international capital markets.”

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Yemi Cardoso, also commented on the development, stating that the outcome reflects growing investor confidence and the resilience of Nigeria’s credit.

“It is evident of our improved liquidity position and continued access to international markets to support the financing needs of the government,” Cardoso said. (NAN) www.nannews.ng

Edited by Sadiya Hamza