The Debt Management Office (DMO) has urged State governments to adhere strictly to the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act regarding borrowing.
The DMO Director-General, Patience Oniha, made the call at a workshop on borrowing for officials of State governments in Abuja on Tuesday.
Oniha, in addition to emphasising compliance with relevant laws, also advised participants to ensure responsible borrowing by their respective sub-national entities.
“We have been doing capacity building for what we call the sub-national governments, meaning the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, to put them through the things that we do: debt recording, debt sustainability analysis, medium-term debt management strategy, how to record debt, all of that we put them through.
“This is very important because we want the states to be familiar with the guidelines for borrowing, to adhere to the provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act which have set the conditions for borrowing.
“This part of it – which is the workshop on borrowing guidelines – is a targeted training. So it’s not about what’s your debt stock. It’s a case of what are the requirements, what is the process for borrowing,” she said.