Patience Oniha Re-appointed as Director General, Debt Management Office

Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari has approved the renewal of the appointment of Patience Oniha as the Director-General of the Debt Management Office (DMO) for a second term of 5 years in accordance to Section IV (9-i) of the Debt Management Office (Establishment ETC) Act, 2003.

The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, who disclosed this via a statement on Thursday, said the renewal takes effect from July 1, 2022.

He said her appointment for a second term was based on the significant achievements recorded by the DMO in the last 5 years, under her leadership.

Amongst the achievements are the introduction of Sukuk and Green Bonds to finance the development of infrastructure where there is a huge gap.

Under her watch, as part of the initiatives to improve the sustainability of the public debt and opening up avenues for raising long term funds for corporates, the DMO introduced long term Bonds with tenors of 30 years in the domestic and international markets.

This is aside from attracting diverse investors including retail investors to the FGN Bond Market.

He also said, internally, Oniha introduced reforms to strengthen the DMO, as a critical agency in the public finance ecosystem of the country.

Hauwa Abu