Lagos DMO, PwC Convene for Debt Strategy Retreat

Lagos State Debt Management Office (DMO) has taken a decisive step toward bolstering its fiscal resilience, hosting a pivotal two-day Strategic Retreat in collaboration with global consulting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Held from Monday, December 22 to Tuesday, December 23, at the Radisson Blu Hotel on Isaac John Street in Ikeja’s GRA, the event gathered top stakeholders to forge a comprehensive debt management blueprint tailored to Lagos’ expansive economic ambitions.

The retreat’s core mission centered on crafting strategies for efficient, sustainable debt handling, fulfilling DMO’s statutory role as the state’s primary advisor on borrowing, risk mitigation, and compliance with fiscal laws. Participants delved into optimizing the state’s debt portfolio, promoting transparency, and embedding best practices amid volatile global markets.

Declaring the event open, DMO Permanent Secretary Mrs. Alake Sanusi hailed the enduring PwC partnership for injecting world-class technical know-how into Lagos’ public finance operations. “This collaboration mirrors global benchmarks in debt stewardship,” she stated, underscoring its timeliness as Lagos shoulders mounting pressures from infrastructure megaprojects, social welfare programs, climate adaptation efforts, and drives for economic edge in Africa.

Strategic Imperatives Amid Economic Pressures

Lagos, often dubbed Africa’s economic powerhouse with a GDP surpassing many nations, faces ballooning demands that necessitate shrewd debt stewardship. Recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics highlights Lagos’ 2024 debt stock at approximately N1.77 trillion (around $1.1 billion), a mix of domestic bonds, multilateral loans, and commercial paper—up from prior years due to investments in transport, housing, and tech hubs like the Lagos Smart City Initiative.

Mrs. Sanusi spotlighted the urgency of a holistic Debt Management Strategy and Policy Framework. This document, she explained, must delineate long-term goals, strategic borrowing options, stringent risk controls, and enhanced institutional muscle to navigate macroeconomic shifts, interest rate hikes, and currency fluctuations. “Our framework must be prudent, transparent, and future-proof,” she asserted, aligning it with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s THEMES+ agenda for sustainable growth.

The retreat featured incisive presentations from luminaries, including Dr. Baba Yusuf Musa, President of the Nigerian Economic Society, who unpacked macroeconomic forecasting in debt planning. PwC specialists dissected sustainable finance models, drawing from global cases like Singapore’s sovereign wealth strategies and Kenya’s subnational debt reforms. Discussions also tackled emerging risks such as climate-linked borrowing and digital currency impacts on state finances.

Broad Stakeholder Engagement for Coordinated Action

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Attendance spanned critical arms of Lagos’ fiscal apparatus: the Ministry of Economic Planning and Budget (MEPB), State Treasury Office (STO), Ministry of Finance, and DMO itself. This cross-agency synergy, Sanusi noted, is vital for seamless debt oversight and averting silos that plague many subnational borrowings.

In her closing address, the Permanent Secretary rallied participants for robust input, confident the outcomes would yield a roadmap steering Lagos’ debt trajectory for years ahead. “This isn’t just an event—it’s a catalyst for fiscal discipline,” she concluded, emphasizing strengthened inter-agency ties.

Context in Nigeria’s Fiscal Landscape

This initiative arrives amid Nigeria’s federal debt hitting N121 trillion by mid-2025, per Debt Management Office reports, with states like Lagos navigating tighter federal allocations and revenue shortfalls from oil price dips. PwC’s involvement builds on prior engagements, including their 2023 advisory on Lagos’ green bonds issuance—the first subnational green bond in Africa, raising N15 billion for eco-projects. Analysts view the retreat as proactive, potentially positioning Lagos for concessional climate finance from bodies like the World Bank, which approved $500 million for Nigerian states in 2025.

As Lagos eyes mega-infra like the Fourth Mainland Bridge and Blue Line rail expansions, such strategic retreats signal commitment to balancing ambition with accountability—key to sustaining its status as sub-Saharan Africa’s GDP leader.