To close Nigeria’s infrastructure deficit, the federal government is seeking to expand the scope of projects financed through Sukuk.
This was disclosed by the Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO), Patience Oniha, during the Investors Meeting for the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) N300 Billion Series VII Sovereign Sukuk Issuance held on Monday in Abuja.
Oniha noted that Nigeria has made steady progress with Sukuk financing, which has grown to N300 billion in the current tranche.
The funds, she said, will be deployed to critical road and bridge projects across the country to support the government’s economic growth and development agenda.
The DMO boss explained that Sukuk is part of the approved domestic borrowing captured in the federal government’s annual budget, hence there is no need for additional legislative approval.
However, she emphasised the need for more budgetary allocations to projects that qualify for Sukuk financing, as this remains a key limitation.
“As we can see, the demand market has grown. What we need now is to have more projects included in the budget that can be funded through Sukuk. That’s a legislative matter,” she stated.
