By Kadiri Abdulrahman
The Debt Management Office (DMO) says Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) and Stockbroking firms are integral to delivering its national mandate of debt management.
Mr Monday Usiade, Director, Business Development Department of the DMO, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Ibadan.
He spoke against the backdrop of the the Federal Government Securities Issuance Awareness programme being organised by the DMO and CSL Stockbrokers Limited in different parts of the country.
Usiade said that the impression that the DMO and its partner stockbroking firms were in competition with the DMBs was not correct.
“We can encourage Nigerians to invest in the various Federal Government securities to diversify their investment portfolios and improve their earnings.
“We cannot undermine the integral role of the DMBs in the financial system and delivering our mandate. We also need the banks to execute our mandate,” he said.
Usiade said that the awareness programme was part of DMO’s market development initiative.
He added that the response had been encouraging, adding that there is a gradual increase in investment in the FGN savings bond, which was specifically designed for the retail investors.
“We are taking awareness about advantages of fixed-income investment, and we are specifically targeting the retail investors.
“We have seen an increase in subscription to FGN savings bond from about N100 million to over N1 billion in the last few months.
“This means that the programme is having the desired impact,” he said. (NAN)
