In a swift rebuttal to a recent Bloomberg article, the Presidency firmly denied claims of delayed coupon payments on savings bonds, emphasizing that all financial obligations are being met promptly.
Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to President Bola Tinubu, challenged the accuracy of Bloomberg’s report in a post on his X handle.
He stated, “Bloomberg is not correct with this report. Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr. Wale Edun, says that Nigeria does not owe anyone at the moment.”
Onanuga further assured that the country has “enough liquidity to meet all our obligations,” adding, “We do not have any outstanding payments.”
Patience Oniha, Director General of the Debt Management Office, corroborated this information, stating, “As of September 19, the Central Bank of Nigeria has processed all due payments.” She confirmed that the payment due on September 20 is also being processed.
Bloomberg’s report alleged that Nigerian authorities failed to make timely coupon payments on two savings bonds, citing “system and processing issues” as the cause of the delay.
The article claimed this was the second delay in two months, involving coupon payments on two- and three-year debt sold in June, totaling 4.2 billion naira ($2.56 million).
