Senate Says Buhari’s N10.7 Trillion Loan Request Will Be Granted
Written by Smooth FM on December 17, 2019
The senate will approve President Muhammadu Buhari’s loan request despite public outcry, according to Senate President Ahmad Lawan.
Explaining why the senate will endorse the N10.7 trillion loan request, Lawan says the federal government needs the loan to build critical infrastructure.
Buhari had for a second time, sought the approval of the loan, hinging the re-submission on the rejection of the eight senate.
Lawan, who was responding to a question on whether the senate will consider the president’s request, disclosed that the ninth senate will approve the loan request, but ensure it is judiciously utilised.
The Senate President said, “The question of whether we will pass (approve) the loan request of the executive arm of government, yes, we will pass it. If we don’t have money and you have projects to build them, how will you provide infrastructure that you need?
“But one thing is that, we are going to be critical that every cent that is borrowed is tied to a project.
“These are projects that will have spillover effects on the economy and we will undertake our oversight so well to ensure that such funds are properly, prudently, economically and transparently applied on those projects.”
He further disclosed that the loan request was rejected in 2016 by the senate, because it wasn’t detailed enough.
“I want to inform this gathering and indeed Nigerians that the letter conveying the loan request of the executive came with every possible detail and in fact we will ensure that we are getting the right information from the executive arm of government. So, the situation is not the same.
“In 2016, there was no submission of details. This time, I think the executive has learnt its lesson and the letter came with sufficient details.
“Nothing will really militate against the passage (of the bill) but we are going to be critical so that every borrowed amount is tied to a project.
“These are projects that will have spillover effects on the economy and we will undertake our oversight to ensure such money is effectively, efficiently prudently applied on those projects,” Lawan added.
Under the leadership of Buhari, Nigeria’s total debt stock rose to N25.7 trillion in June 2019.
Consequently, the payment for servicing the debt has continued to be a major concern, as reports from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) confirmed that the country spent no less than $1.12 billion as external debt service payment between January and October 2019.
