The senators from the south-east have alleged that the
region was excluded in the spending plan of President Muhammadu Buhari’s
proposed $22.7 billion loan.
The federal lawmakers have, therefore, met with the
leadership of the national assembly to seek adjustments in the plan as
presented by the president.
Ike Ekweremadu, former deputy senate president, who was flanked
by members of the caucus, said this while addressing journalists in Abuja on
Thursday.
Buhari had sought the lawmakers’ approval for the loan
request which he said will be used to finance key infrastructure across the
country as contained in the spending plan.
While the senate has approved the request, the house of representatives
is yet to consider it.
However, the south-east senators said the region must be
accommodated in the plan if it will be part of those to repay it.
Ekweremadu said the lawmakers are hoping that relevant
adjustments will be made in the proposal before implementation.
“We are believing that the matter would either be revisited
or since it has not been passed by the house the right thing would be done and
then our peoples fears would be assuaged,” he said.
“We believe that equity and justice should be the way
forward for our country to make progress as their thinking is for an equitable
distribution.
“Our thinking is that what the federal government is
presenting was a borrowing plan; being a borrowing plan there is still
opportunity for us to look at the distribution so that every part of Nigeria
would have a sense of belonging on how the loan would be managed.
“We believe that every part of Nigeria is part and parcel of
the repayment. So, if we are going to be part and parcel of the repayment, not
makes every sense to be part of the utilisation of those funds.”
Ekweremadu said the senators hope that when the matter is
addressed, “the fears of our people will be addressed”.
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com