The house of
representatives has approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s request to borrow
$22.7 billion.
The green chamber
approved the request at Tuesday’s plenary session after it considered the
report of its committee on aids, loans and debt management.
When he sent the
request in 2019, Buhari said the loan will be used to finance key
infrastructures in the country.
But some lawmakers
particularly those in the south-east kicked against the move, alleging that the
region was excluded in the loan’s implementation plan.
The criticisms had
led to suspension of the loan approval which has now been debated and passed
after much plea from Femi Gbajabiamila, the speaker.
Gbajabiamila said
every step to address the issues raised against the loan request was met by
legal blocks “in the sense that agreements have already been made and cannot be
approved”.
“So, it is either we
approve wholesale or not approve,” he said.
The speaker,
however, added that the house was able to get the executive to agree to insert
projects from the south-east and north-east into the next borrowing plan.
“For the first time,
we added a clause specifying certain projects. We met and demanded for the
commitment of the executive that these projects must be considered in the next
borrowing plan and we got their words,” he said.
“I am only seeking
for the understanding of our colleagues from the north-east and south-east. All
of us will agree that there is a massive wide infrastructural deficit in this
country and we need to bridge that gap.
“I am pleading that
you to understand with us and at this point, be nationalistic. Let us not throw
away the baby with the bathwater. Mistakes have been made and it has been
corrected for the future.”
Buhari first sent
the loan request to the previous national assembly under Bukola Saraki but it
was rejected.
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