For the first time, the Debt Management Office (DMO) has said it would release very soon a comprehensive data on Nigeria’s public debt, particularly as it has just concluded restructuring states’ debt profile.
Announcing this on Monday at the sub-national debt sustainability analysis portfolio review training programme in Abuja, Abraham Nwankwo, director general, DMO, further disclosed that the data office has been able to establish 36 Debt Management Departments in the states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The debt sustainability programme, according to Nwankwo, was part of efforts to ensure effective and smooth operations of the Debt Management Departments in the states.
“We also have now, in addition to accurate data on Federal Government domestic debt, the domestic debt of each state of the federation as well as the FCT.
“So, for the first time the country has a comprehensive public debt data and this is something we should be proud about”, he stated.
Nwankwo maintained that accurate data of the federal and states domestic debts had been established. He added that establishing the Debt Management Departments in various states concluded the first phase of the project which started in 2007.
“That promise we collectively made to the government and people of Nigeria we have kept and that is that by the end of 2012, working cooperatively with all the states, we have established effectively debt management departments in each of the 36 states of the federation and the FCT.
“More spectacularly, working with you, we have succeeded in reconstructing the domestic debt of all the states of the federation very comprehensively”, he said.
Representatives from Oyo, Plateau, Yobe, Anambra Zamfara, Borno, Gigawa, Taraba states as well as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) attended the event.
He said that the second phase would focus on consolidating the achievement of the first phase and establishing more techniques as he advised them to continue to collaborate with the state government and the DMO to ensure update on debt profiles in the states.
ONYINYE NWACHUKWU, Abuja
