Presidency Faults Bloomberg Report On Debt Payment Delays

In a swift response to a recent Bloomberg article, the Presidency on Friday vehemently denied claims of delayed coupon payments on savings bonds, asserting that all financial obligations are being met on schedule.

In a post on his X handle, Bayo Onanuga, the special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, challenged the accuracy of Bloomberg’s report.

According to Onanuga, Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun, has confirmed that Nigeria currently has no outstanding debts and possesses sufficient liquidity to fulfill all its obligations.

“Bloomberg is not correct with this report. Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, says that Nigeria does not owe anyone at the moment. We have enough liquidity to meet all our obligations. We do not have any outstanding payments.

“Director General of the Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha, also confirms that, as of September 19, the Central Bank of Nigeria has processed all due payments. The payment due today, September 20, is also being processed for payment,” Onanuga said.

Bloomberg has alleged in a report that Nigerian authorities had failed to make timely coupon payments on two savings bonds, citing “system and processing issues” as the cause for the delay.

Bloomberg’s article claimed this was the second such delay in two months, involving coupon payments on two-and three-year debt sold in June, totaling 4.2 billion naira ($2.56 million).