Emma Ujah, Abuja Bureau Chief

The Debt Management Office (DMO) has refuted media reports that Nigeria had defaulted in the repayment of loans obtained from China.

According to the organisation in a statement in Abuja, yesterday, the claim that Nigeria was facing penalties amounting to N41.31 billion was also untrue.

It described the reports as false, as well as, misleading and urged the public to ignore them.

The DMO assured that the country was fully committed to meeting all its debt obligations, as and when due.

The statement reads in full, “The attention of the Debt Management Office (DMO) has been drawn to a publication by some media houses claiming that Nigeria has defaulted in debt repayment to China for which it claimed “penalties stand at N41.31bn”

“The public is advised to ignore the publication as it is FALSE.

“A closer look at the media publication shows that the body of the publication is completely detached from the headline which gives the impression that the publishers of the report may have set out to mislead the public.

“The public is assured that Nigeria is fully committed to honouring its debt obligations and has not defaulted on any of its debt service obligations. The media report should therefore be dis-regarded.”