ABSTRACT
Debt has been a necessary evil amongst individuals and associations alike, many scholars around the world without reaching a common ground have argued on the necessity of debt, if it does more good than evil or more evil than good. This study emphasizes on the concept of debt, and the impact it can have on those who contract it, with a wide range focus on the Nigerian state. This study stresses the virtue of a properly managed external debt situation, in developing countries like Nigeria, where external debt are usually highly contracted, as proper debt servicing without causing financial deficit in the nations’ reserve, external debt at a sustainable level, and finally, economic growth. The correlation between the Debt Management Office and the level of external debt management in Nigeria is properly examined through objectives set by the study, being: evaluating the impact of the DMO on the management of external debt in Nigeria, examining the policies of the DMO in the management of Nigeria’s external debt, investigating the challenges faced by the DMO in the management of Nigeria’s external debt, with the ultimate aim of proffering solutions or recommendations to the challenges faced by DMO to enhance a more organized and effective management of external debt in Nigeria, through research methodologies like descriptive survey, purposive sampling method, structured questionnaire system, primary and secondary data, and analysis techniques like simple percentage and chi square. With these methodologies, the study effectively concluded that the DMO has not reached the achievable function of effective debt servicing and sustainable external debt, due to the challenges faced by the DMO, and that the policies of the DMO do affect the culture of external debt contractual in Nigeria. The study further recommended amongst others that, external debt should be judiciously utilized to attain the proposed intentions on economic sustainable growth and development in Nigeria.
