The Debt Management Office (DMO) has vowed to deal with any of its staff responsible for leaking official documents.

According to a statement issued Saturday evening, the DMO said it “will brief relevant security agencies in the country to thoroughly investigate the sources of the documents”.

The reason for involving security agencies, the DMO said, is “with a view to bringing the perpetrators to book in line with Public Service Rules No. 030401 and 030402, which prescribes dismissal for unauthorised disclosure of official information as a serious act of misconduct”.

Vanguard newspaper had ran a story titled “Alleged N1.08bn corruption scandal hits DMO”. Reacting to the story, the DMO said “the sponsors of the story are disgruntled elements who have not only breached the Civil Service Rules but have also contravened laid down procedures for dealing with official matters”.

It went on to state that “these officials 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 DMO added that “the story referred to documents that, on their own, are incomplete and do not reflect the whole story or the purpose of any transaction”.

DMO denied claims that events and travels by officials of the DMO either did not take place or did not hold as “false and an attempt to discredit the impeccable records of the organisation. These speak to their desperation to give the institution a bad name”.

The nation’s debt managers described itself as “an accountable, transparent and responsible organisation that works in accordance with laid down civil service procedures”.

It noted that “it is highly regarded by multilateral agencies and financial institutions as a reputable government agency”.

The Vanguard report, the DMO lamented, has “been twisted and distorted with the intention to misinform the general public and discredit the institution. (Vanguard)

Text (excluding headline) courtesy of The Nation.

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