Nigeria launched a call to manifestation of interest to hire legal and financial consultants as well as fiduciary companies to issue its first local sukuk. This was announced on December 19 by the Nigerian Debt Management Office (DMO).

The office added it plans to appoint banks and an issuance company as financial consultants, a law firm to draw all documents related to the operation and a fiduciary company to commercialize the sukuk, indicating that bids must be submitted before January 9.

Nigeria, whose economy plunged into recession due to global oil price slump, is yet to determine the size of its first sukuk. The issuance of the Islamic bonds falls in line with the country’s strategy to diversify the sources of financing for its budget deficit.

Islamic finance is taking its first steps in Nigeria despite half of the population being Muslim. In 2013, the Osun State in the South Western part of the country issued a sukuk of N10 billion ($62 million) but no similar operation took place since.