DMO denies N1.08bn corruption allegations, blames disgruntled elements

The Debt Management Office (DMO) Saturday rebutted accusations of corruption against it, saying the agency is ‘accountable, transparent and responsible’ in its operations.

The debt office said a statement by Patience Oniha, its Director-General, that as a responsible organisation, its processes and activities always conformed to established rules and regulations of the public service, adding that the corruption allegation of N1.08 billion against the organisation was false.

According to the DMO, the alleged scandal published in a national newspaper was the action of disgruntled elements who have not only breached the Civil Service Rules but have also contravened laid-down procedures for dealing with official matters.

“The DMO hereby states unequivocally that the story is false, full of lies and the documents referred to in the Vanguard’s report have been twisted and distorted with the intention to misinform the general public and discredit the institution. The Vanguard story is not a true representation of the dealings in the DMO,’ the document said.

Read also: Domestic debt servicing gulps N609bn of govt’s revenue in Q1 –DMO

‘These officials, who have resorted to illegally leaking official documents due to their recent redeployment, have colluded with other disgruntled persons who have failed in their attempts to control the running of the affairs of the DMO, which has blocked their ability to pilfer public funds.

‘The story referred to documents that, on their own, are incomplete and do not reflect the whole story or the purpose of any transaction. The claims that events and travels by officials of the DMO either did not take place or did not hold are false and an attempt to discredit the impeccable records of the organisation.’

The DMO stated that it would inform the appropriate agency to meticulously investigate the sources of the documents on which the sponsors based their story in order to bring the perpetrators to book in line with Public Service rules No 030401 and 030402, which recommend dismissal for unauthorised disclosure of official information as a serious act of misconduct.

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