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DMO holds awareness programme on securities issuance

The Debt Management Office (DMO), yesterday held an awareness programme on Securities Issuance in Lagos, aimed to sell the various existing Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) securities to the Nigerian public.

The Director-General, DMO, Patience Oniha, said the objective was to ensure that many more Nigerians became aware of the huge investment opportunities so they could take advantage of them.

She said: “The purpose of this gathering is to introduce DMO to the people. Some might have read one or two things about us in the newspapers, but the Nigerian people are a very important set of stakeholders we must engage.

“Also, we have to educate the general public about the various products that we offer. We are talking of investment products similar to shares, but this is the other side of shares.

“The needs of the government are growing and becoming different, so, we need to get more stakeholders involved in what we are doing.” she said.

Financial inclusion

Oniha noted that getting more Nigerians to invest in government securities also promotes and encourages financial inclusion.

“We do not want anybody outside of the banking system as much as possible. We want to encourage financial inclusion.

“It is good to keep bank accounts, but it is also good to get actively involved in the financial market, either by buying shares or bonds,” she said.

According to her, the various FGN securities constitute the local component of government borrowings, which go into providing some critical needs of the citizens.

“As you know, the government does borrow to execute projects. One of our objectives is to prove our ability to raise the funds that the government will use to fund these projects that will benefit all of us.

“We will like you to support us by subscribing to our products so that we can transfer the funds to the government,” she said.

While managing the public debt, we also want to ensure that it is sustainable, so, there are some World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) tools that we use.

Oniha added that the DMO is a government agency saddled with the responsibility of managing public debt, as managing debt involves borrowing.

“While managing the public debt, we also want to ensure that it is sustainable, so, there are some World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) tools that we use.

“We have a range of products like the FGN Bond, the Nigeria Treasury Bills, FGN Savings Bond, the Sovereign Sukuk and the Green Bond,” she said.

She informed that the FGN savings bond was deliberately designed for retail investors to benefit, while supporting the government to raise funds and also supporting development of the financial market.

Also speaking, Head, Business Development, CSL Stockbrokers Limited, also the FGN Stockbrokers, Kayode Olayemi, said it had become imperative to create awareness about government securities among retail investors.

Olayemi said that ordinary Nigerians also deserve the opportunity to invest and benefit from the huge opportunities in FGN bonds, adding that the FGN securities served as a benchmark for other private institutions to be able to issue their own debt securities.

“Government securities also enhance the saving and investment opportunities of the populace, thereby, promoting financial inclusion,” he said.

Divisional Head, Sales and Business Development, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), Adeyinka Sonekan, commended the DMO for creating awareness on investable opportunities in government securities among ordinary Nigerians.

Sonekan urged Nigerians to take advantage of the investment opportunities to key into the financial system and also improve their finances. (NAN)

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