IT all happened the other day in Lagos. From all indications, it was a beautiful gathering consisting of a galaxy of tried, tested and trusted Media Editors drawn from reputable media organisations across the country.The editors had been invited to an interactive session with the Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Nigeria, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo.Throughout the duration of the lively and mutually beneficial interaction between Nwankwo and the Editors, the highly conducive operating environment was indeed, a source of inspiration that contributed largely, to the resounding success recorded.Essentially, the well organised interactive session provided Nwankwo a unique opportunity to present in facts and figures, vital information concerning the activities, as well as the major achievements of the Debt Management Office since the all-important organisation was established several years ago.According to its mandate, the Debt Management Office performs the following functions, amongst others: Maintenance of a reliable data base for all loans, taken or guaranteed by the Federal Government, the State Governments or any of their agencies; preparation and submission of a forecast of loan service obligations for each financial year to the federal government; servicing on an agency basis, external debts taken by state governments and any of their agencies, especially if such debts are guaranteed by the federal government, as well as preparation and implementation of a plan for the efficient management of Nigeria's external and domestic debt obligations at sustainable levels compatible with the much-desired economic activities for the socio-economic growth and development of the country.There is no doubt that as it is presently constituted, the Debt Management Office plays a very important role in the economic development of the country.Also, the fact that the organisation is entrusted with the sacred responsibility of providing useful advice to the Minister of Finance concerning the terms and conditions on which monies ' in Nigeria's currency or in any other currency, are to be borrowed, makes the DMO a very important agency whose advice or recommendations on burning issues relating to the socio-economic growth and development of the country cannot be ignored by any responsible government.This is why under the leadership of Nwankwo, the DMO, in-line with its Vision, which is 'to manage Nigeria's debt as an asset for growth, development and poverty reduction', has continuously been developing various result-oriented programmes aimed at ensuring effective growth and development of Nigeria.One of these programmes, according to Nwankwo, is the building of sustainable public debt management institutions. This is why the DMO has been encouraging the 36 States across the country to establish their own full-fledged debt management departments to ensure human capacities and the right frameworks are in place to enable them have effective and reliable macro-economic management systems.Over the years, the rate at which the federal and state governments go aborrowing either locally or from abroad has been of great concern to Nigerians with discerning minds. Many Nigerians have found the situation not only alarming but also worrisome, especially judging by the fact that some of these monies are never tied to specific projects to ensure proper monitoring by relevant agencies. Some of the monies are not judiciously expended while part of the monies goes into private pockets by way of corruption which is increasingly eating deep into the fragile fabric of the country.There have been reports of fiscal irresponsibility and financial recklessness by some state governments and their agencies over the years. Efforts to minimise wasteful spending and corruption to the barest minimum, are yet to achieve the much-desired results. Efforts to ensure accountability and transparency in governance by the various tiers of government across the country, especially when it concerns handling of public funds ' loans, pensioners' entitlements, contractors' monies, workers' salaries and donations, amongst others, and penalise offenders to serve as a deterrent to others, have continued to be frustrated by corrupt officials and the faceless cabals.But hope that this deplorable situation would not continue like this seems not totally lost. Judging by the repeated assurances from Nwankwo during the interactive session that day concerning on-going programmes, especially those the DMO is organising for the various state governments, many of these problems would soon be solved.Nwankwo strongly believes that since all the states have established their debt management departments, it is hoped that by the end of 2012, the DMO would have completed every part of the implementation plan for each of the 36 states.The DMO is helping the states to build human capacities to ensure each of them is exposed to fiscal responsibility and prudence in financial management.It is gladdening that while the 36 states have established their debt management departments, some have gone a step further by also passing either the Fiscal Responsibility Law (FRL) or the Public Debt Management Law (PDML). Only one state has effectively passed the FRL and the PDML into law. And of the 36 states, 10 have drafted the FRL and presented it to their respective state legislatures, while four are yet to draft either the FRL or the PDML.There is no doubt that DMO's plan for the states is a step in the right direction. Nwankwo insisted that the role of the DMO when states are seeking to obtain loans is strictly advisory. The DMO ensures those borrowing follow the guidelines religiously and that such loans are used for purposes meant and also judiciously utilised.'We help the state governments to build relevant institutions that can properly manage their debts. The loans should be tied to specific sustainable projects such as commercial agriculture and revival of the railway system, amongst others. Individuals and sovereigns, for instance, have the right to borrow but it is the duty of the DMO to ensure monies borrowed are judiciously used,' said Nwankwo.The DMO Chief Executive stressed the need for various countries around the globe to pay greater attention to public debt management. It was for this reason that he said Nigeria has a lot to learn from those countries that have been managing their debts successfully. He said the process of public debt management should be democratised and that Nigerians should always demand for good governance from those they have elected into offices at various tiers of government to ensure accountability and transparency.It is noteworthy that of the 36 states, the DMO has reconstructed the domestic debts of 25 states but the exercise would be concluded by the end of 2012. The exercise entails finding out how much states owe contractors, pensioners and teachers, amongst others.Contrary to the belief in certain quarters that the actual domestic and external debts of the federal and state governments are continuously being shrouded in secrecy by government officials, Nwankwo advised those interested to go to the website of DMO for information. He assured that a breakdown of such information is provided quarterly for public consumption.Meanwhile, according to the Debt Management Office, total public debt (external and domestic) of the federal and state governments as at December 31, 2010, was US $40,100.00 million as against US$25,817.42 million (only Federal Government) in 2009. Of the total stock for 2010, federal government's domestic stock stood at US$30.51 billion or 76.10, while the sub-nationals had US$5.00 billion or 12.48 percent leaving a balance of US$4.58 billion or 11.42 percent which represents external debt of the federation as at 2010.This shows that the domestic debt stood at $35.52 billion or 88.58 percent of the entire debt stock while $4.58 billion or 11.42 percent represents external debt.
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