Capacity-Building Workshop Aims to Streamline State Government Loans
The Debt Management Office (DMO) has called on state governments to strictly comply with the Fiscal Responsibility Act and other relevant legislation when accessing loans and credit facilities.
The call was made by DMO Director-General, Patience Oniha, at a workshop held in Abuja, designed to train state officials on proper borrowing procedures.
According to Oniha, the workshop is part of the DMO’s ongoing capacity-building programme for sub-national governments, focusing on areas such as debt recording, debt sustainability analysis, medium-term debt management strategies, and legal borrowing procedures.
“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,” Oniha explained.
She added that borrowing requests from states have often faced delays in the past due to limited understanding of the guidelines, despite the fact that all requests must pass through the Minister of Finance and the DMO, in line with the law.
The programme has been expanded this year to include more participants, with five to eight officials from each state attending the training. Oniha emphasised that compliance with legal requirements is non-negotiable. “There is no flexibility when it comes to the law. If it is in the law, you must comply,” she said.
Oniha noted that proper understanding of the borrowing process would enable states to raise funds efficiently for development projects, whether through local sources or international development finance institutions like the World Bank, without unnecessary delays.
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