Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has urged state governments to strictly comply with the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act and other relevant laws in their borrowing activities.
Director-General of the DMO, Ms. Patience Oniha, gave the charge at a workshop on borrowing guidelines for officials of state governments, held in Abuja.
Oniha said the workshop was part of the DMO’s ongoing capacity-building programme for sub-national governments, covering areas such as debt recording, debt sustainability analysis, medium-term debt management strategy and borrowing procedures.
According to her, the training is aimed at ensuring that states understand and comply with the legal requirements for borrowing, as stipulated in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, the DMO Act, the Investment and Securities Act and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“This workshop on borrowing guidelines is a targeted training. It is not about debt stock, but about understanding the requirements and the process for borrowing,” she explained.
Oniha noted that in the past, borrowing requests from states often took longer to process due to poor understanding of the guidelines, even though such requests must pass through the Minister of Finance and the DMO in line with the law.
She said the workshop was introduced to address this challenge, adding that it was expanded this year to accommodate more participants, with each state represented by between five and eight officials.
“There is no flexibility when it comes to the law. If it is in the law, you must comply,” she stressed.
Oniha explained that proper understanding of the borrowing process would enable states to raise funds needed for development without unnecessary delays, regardless of the source of the loan, including development finance institutions such as the World Bank.”
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