The Debt Management Office (DMO) has put on offer a N50 billion Green Bond, on behalf of the Federal Government (FG).

The Director-General (D-G) of the DMO, Ms. Patience Oniha, told investors at a stakeholders’ meeting in Lagos, yesterday, that the proceeds would be used to fund several climate-friendly projects such as renewable energy, afforestation, dams and the Compressed Natural Gas, across the country.

The instrument has a five-year tenor and will be benchmarked against the FGN Savings Bond which is traded in the nation’s capital market.

According to the D-G, the instrument has become critical for the nation because its entire proceeds would go into projects that would mitigate climate change impact on Nigeria.

She stated: “It is tied to the global policy on Climate Change and looking after the environmental because Nigeria is committed to the global agreements on Climate Change.”

She noted that Nigeria was pioneering Sovereign Green Bonds, having issued first African sovereign Green Bonds in 2017 and in 2019 when N10.69 billion and N15 billion, respectively were raised.

Oniha said the N25.69 billion raised from the earlier two series went into supporting renewables, afforestation, education and micro-utilities. “The government continues to mobilize domestic and international climate finance to scale up mitigation and adaptation efforts” she added.

Fielding questions from journalists, she expressed the willingness of her Office to return to the market with the Green Bond on a regular basis, but that it could only be to the extent of the provisions in the federal government budget.

She urged other corporates to take advantage of the leadership of the federal government in issuing the Green Bond to issue similar instruments in order to better tackle the challenges of Climate Change which confronts the nation, in various forms.

Oniha disclosed that investment into the N50 billion Sovereign Green Bond would be a Minimum subscription of N10 million and multiple of N1 million, thereafter.

Dr. Iniobong Awe, the Director of Climate Change of the Federal Ministry of Environment, in her presentation, noted that desert encroachment in Northern Nigeria was a real danger, affecting both humans and livestock.

She said that the federal government was committed to the Climate Change Act of 2021 and its Net Zero by 2060, supported by policies such as the Nigerian Carbon Market Initiative, the Green Bond Initiative, the National Council on Climate Change, and a Renewable Energy Policy.