As the launch of the independent review report of debt management in the country holds today in Abuja by Vice President Namadi Sambo, the British high commissioner to Nigeria, Andrew Pocock, has described his country’s partnership with Nigeria on this score as successful.
Pocock also said Nigeria was on the path to macro-economic stability through the assistance of United Kingdom in debt management.
“Partnering with countries like Nigeria to pursue self-financed exits from poverty is a key part of the UK government’s development approach. Helping Nigeria improve its debt management is an important achievement on the road to macro-economic stability, economic growth and job creation”, the British envoy said.
Explaining the evolution of Debt Management Office (DMO) in Nigeria, the Centre for the Study of Economies in Africa (CSEA), which is organising today’s review report launch, said it was through the support of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) that Nigeria’s first ever DMO was established in October 2000.
According to CSEA, “Thirteen years on, an independent review concludes that the partnership between the Nigerian government and DFID to establish the DMO has been a success, and Nigeria is now sharing its expertise with other countries in Africa.”
It was also noted that technical assistance from DFID had enabled Nigeria to professionalise the management of its public debt.
“This made it possible for the DMO to establish Nigeria’s debt figure, and in 2005 to successfully negotiate its external debt down from $35 billion to $5 billion. The review also notes that other successes have been the extension of debt management systems from the national to sub-national levels of government and a reasonably well-functioning domestic government bond market enabling Nigeria to raise money from capital markets for its national development,” the Centre for the Study of Economies in Africa said, adding, “Following this success, the DMO has now graduated from UK government technical assistance.”
ZEBULON AGOMUO
