The Debt Management Office (DMO) has advised Nigerians to invest in governments’ saving bonds in view of the profitability and other benefits when compared with saving in banks.
The Director-General of DMO, Patience Oniha, made this remark on Tuesday in Ibadan at the FGN Securities Issuance awareness programme, jointly organised by Office and CSL Stockbrokers Limited.
Represented at the forum by the Office’s Director, Market Development Department, Mr. Monday Usiade, the Director General specifically urged Nigerians to embrace investment in the various FGN securities to enhance their earnings.
She said: “Saving is a culture we must all imbibe, and the FGN savings bond has come to help Nigerians save.The driving force is to encourage us to save in a secure environment. The Federal Government cannot default on a loan in its own currency.”
Oniha maintained that the various FGN securities, including the Treasury Bills, FGN Bond, FGN Savings Bond, Euro Bond, Green Bond and Sovereign Sukuk, were already competing with the banks, stressing that “there is the need to challenge the banks to improve on their service delivery.”
According to her, the FGN savings bond is specifically targeted at retail investors and to deepen the current financial inclusion drive
The Director General explained that government borrowing was not necessarily a problem, provided the borrowings are invested on infrastructure development and investment in the productive sector of the economy.
Earlier in his remarks, a top official of CSL Stockbrokers Limited, Mr Fortune Ibe, said that investment in FGN Securities was a means for Nigerians to invest profitably, adding that the objective of the programme is to create awareness among retail investors.
He expatiated: “The Federal Government is telling Nigerians that they can borrow their money for infrastructure and they will get interest rate on it. The interest rates on FGN securities are higher than what the banks will give.
“With as little as N5,000, Nigerians can now invest in FGN savings bond. It is an avenue through which the government raises funds to develop infrastructure.
“It also contributes to the development of the financial market, attracts foreign investors into the financial market and enhances savings and investment opportunities of the populace”, the investment expert added.
