The Director General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha, said the federal government has so far raised N4.5 trillion out of the N6 trillion domestic borrowing target in the 2024 budget.
Oniha said this in Lagos yesterday at an interactive session with primary dealers in the federal government securities market.
She noted that domestic securities remain a major source of federal government spending.
The federal government had in January, realised about N418.19 billion from the domestic bonds market through the DMO.
In February it raised N1.49 trillion from two FGN bonds offered. Both bonds were newly created and offered at a unit price of ₦1,000, with a minimum subscription requirement of ₦50,001,000 and subsequent increments in multiples of ₦1,000.
In March, the federal government could only raise N475.67 billion – far below what was recorded in February despite a higher interest rate.
The federal government raised N626.813 billion in its April 2024 FGN bond auction.
The amount represents an increase of approximately 32 per cent compared to the N475.67 billion raised in the previous month’s auction.
At the Lagos meeting, the DMO boss said: “Last year, we raised N7 trillion as new domestic borrowing. It speaks to the size of the domestic market, its resilience, and its sophistication, unlike we have in many African markets.
“Out of the new domestic borrowing of six N7 trillion, we have raised N4.5 trillion. For the Ways and Means, out of N7 trillion approved for securitisation, we have raised N4.905 trillion. The financial sector has come a long way, and this is another strategic meeting to chart a way forward.”
President of the Financial Market Dealers Association (FMDA), Nadia Zakari, said the evolving and unique Nigerian business environment necessitates interactive sessions.
Zakari emphasized that these sessions are crucial for both market operators and the federal government, enabling informed decision-making as they plan for the rest of the year.
“We stand as financial intermediaries, and we are in a very important position of interacting with other market operators, the end investors and the DMO,” she said.
