The Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) and 10 other Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) have outstanding N178.09bn lent to them to repay, the Debt Management Office (DMO) has said.
The loans, which were raised as bonds and lent to the organisations for various purposes, are supposed to be repaid following different Memoranda of Understanding signed between DMO and the benefiting organisations.
According to a report on the monies lent to the MDAs obtained by our correspondent in Abuja on Monday, the MDAs have yet to redeem a total of N178.09bn as of December 31, 2017.
For the FCTA, the DMO raised a total of N15bn for funding of health and education projects in the FCT. A balance of N7.09bn is outstanding against the organisation.
The Ministry of Finance, on whose behalf the DMO raised N6.3bn for Consumer Car Finance Scheme for Public Servants, has an outstanding N2.66bn to repay.
Also, the Ministry of Transport on whose behalf N12.5bn was raised for the purchase of 25 locomotives has not repaid anything while the Ministry of Defence on whose behalf N35bn was raised for funding of peacekeeping operations has an outstanding of N11.28bn to repay.
The DMO said, “The Federal Government of Nigeria, in its efforts to support the growth of the real sector of the economy, so as to create jobs and reduce poverty, had from time to time, through the DMO, provided on-lent loans to various MDAs for the purpose of financing specified projects.
“These loans were used to finance key projects in the key sectors of the economy, including road and railway, agriculture, transport, education, cotton, garment and textile, among others.
“Each of the on-lent loans to the MDAs was backed by a Memorandum of Understanding executed between the DMO and the benefiting MDA to ensure its full and timely repayment.
“As of December 31, 2017, the total outstanding on-lent loans to the various MDAs were N178.086bn.”
The report revealed that the Bureau of Public Enterprises received N63bn for the settlement of Transcorp Plc after the Federal Government terminated the sale of the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited to the company. It also received another N54.55bn for the settlement of the terminal benefits of the workers of NITEL.
The Bank of Industry, on the other hand, received N2.5bn to cover the indebtedness of the defunct Nigeria Bank for Commerce and Industry.
Another organisation that received the loans was the Ministry of Mines and Steel Development which got N2.24bn for the settlement of salary arrears of the workers of Ajaokuta Steel Company and the National Iron Ore Mining Company, Itakpe.
