Ajibola Basiru, spokesman of the senate, says the upper
legislative chamber is not quick to approve loan requests of
President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking with journalists after plenary on Thursday, Basiru said
the last loan request by the executive took the senators about six
weeks of scrutiny before approval was granted.
Basiru spoke hours after President Muhammadu Buhari sent a
letter, seeking a $5.5 billion loan was read by Senate President
Ahmad Lawan.
The senator said there is also a misinformation about the
approval senate gave to source an N850 billion loan it earlier
approved.
“I think it is not correct to say that the senate is usually
quick to approve loan requests by the executive. I will take us
back memory lane, the last of tranche of loan request which are
normally composed of domestic borrowing and external borrowing,” he
said.
“It took the senate committee of a period of five or six weeks
to scrutinise the request and all agencies that are supposed to
expend the money were requested to appear for specific projects to
which these borrowing was attached to and the details were
requested by the senate.
“I want to say in all sense of responsibility that we are not
quick to approve the request [loan request] – there is a lot of
misinformation about the reclassification of the source of the
initially N850 billion external loan. What the senate did on the
floor when we resumed after the COVID-19 lockdown was just to
approve that the initially approved loan should be sourced from
domestic markets because of the vagueness of the international
market.
“It is not empirical to say we are quick, at the same time we
must also get one thing right. Senators are also Nigerians. we are
also citizens and we must also be patriotic.”
Economic experts have expressed worry about the country’s rising
debt profile.
Ajibola Basiru, spokesman of the senate, says the upper
legislative chamber is not quick to approve loan requests of
President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaking with journalists after plenary on Thursday, Basiru said
the last loan request by the executive took the senators about six
weeks of scrutiny before approval was granted.
Basiru spoke hours after President Muhammadu Buhari sent a
letter, seeking a $5.5 billion loan was read by Senate President
Ahmad Lawan.
The senator said there is also a misinformation about the
approval senate gave to source an N850 billion loan it earlier
approved.
“I think it is not correct to say that the senate is usually
quick to approve loan requests by the executive. I will take us
back memory lane, the last of tranche of loan request which are
normally composed of domestic borrowing and external borrowing,” he
said.
“It took the senate committee of a period of five or six weeks
to scrutinise the request and all agencies that are supposed to
expend the money were requested to appear for specific projects to
which these borrowing was attached to and the details were
requested by the senate.
“I want to say in all sense of responsibility that we are not
quick to approve the request [loan request] – there is a lot of
misinformation about the reclassification of the source of the
initially N850 billion external loan. What the senate did on the
floor when we resumed after the COVID-19 lockdown was just to
approve that the initially approved loan should be sourced from
domestic markets because of the vagueness of the international
market.
“It is not empirical to say we are quick, at the same time we
must also get one thing right. Senators are also Nigerians. we are
also citizens and we must also be patriotic.”
Economic experts have expressed worry about the country’s rising
debt profile.