Senior Special Assistant to the President on Foreign Affairs and Diaspora Abike Dabiri-Erewa has urged Nigerians to take advantage of the first ever 300 million dollars Diaspora bond.
Dabiri-Erewa, who made the call on Monday in Abuja in a statement by her Media Assistant, Mr Abdurrahman Balogun, asked Nigerians to buy into the offer.
She noted that the Debt Management Office (DMO) had announced the commencement of a global offering of Nigeria’s first Diaspora Bond.
She said the DMO also filed a registration statement for the bonds with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
The presidential aide said that that the Diaspora bond would be used to raise funds from Nigerians in the Diaspora to finance capital projects.
According to her, the bond will provide an opportunity for them to participate in the development of the country.
She said her office as well as the Nigerians in the Diaspora was excited as the first ever diaspora bond was being rolled out to the benefits of Nigerians.
The SSA said it was a unique way of lubricating the interest of Nigerians in the Diaspora to participate in the developmental projects being carried out by the Muhammadu Buhari administration.
She recalled that the Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun, in February promised that the Diaspora bond will soon be rolled out by the DMO.
She said that the DMO had also said that application would be made for the bonds to be admitted to the official list of the UK Listing Authority and the London Stock Exchange Plc.
The office, according to her, said this is to ensure that the bonds were admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange’s regulated market.
“The bonds will be direct general obligations of Nigeria and will be denominated in U.S. dollars.
“The international Joint Lead Managers are Bank of America Merrill Lynch and The Standard Bank of South Africa Limited.
“The Nigerian Joint Lead Managers are First Bank of Nigeria Limited and United Bank for Africa Plc,’’ she quoted DMO as saying.
She said that the DMO added that there would be a series of investor meetings in the UK, the U.S. and Switzerland from June 13.
She said that the office explained that pricing was expected to occur following the investor meetings and subject to market conditions.
Dabiri-Erewa said that as part of measures to fund capital expenditures, the Federal Government had in February announced its offering of one billion dollars euro bond.
The bond, she said, was under its newly-established one billion dollars Global Medium Term Note programme.
“We are very excited that the National Assembly has approved the Diaspora Bond.
“We believe Nigerians abroad want to support development in Nigeria and such would be glad to invest in it,” she said.