DMO facilitates bailout for 23 states, helps to restructure N575 billion debts

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has helped to facilitate bailout for 23 states of the federation by working out an arrangement under which their domestic debts were restructured for repayment over a much longer period.

Director General of DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo, disclosed this on Friday while speaking at a workshop for online publishers organised in Lagos by the Agency. He said that DMO came up the debt restructuring proposal as its own way of assisting states facing financial crisis as a result of declining federal allocation occasioned by the sharp drop in federal revenue as a result of the plunge in the price of oil in the international market. 

“We made the proposal to the Vice President, who liked it and took it to the President, who approved it and then presented to the National Economic Council, which also approved it. Twenty-three states showed interest and we have restructured their debts into 20-year Federal Government of Nigeria bonds,” Dr. Nwankwo said. He gave the total debt restructured at N575 billion, disclosing that 15 banks are involved in the exercise.World stage