By Tosin Olatokunbo
Within one week, the National assembly has approved the $5.5 billion request by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The president, had last week, requested an approval for the loan which he said would be used to cushion the effects of the corona virus pandemic on the economy.
The loan will also be used to fund the deficit in the 2020 Budget, the president said in a letter to the Assembly last week.
With the approval on Tuesday the lawmakers have approved $28.2 billion for the president in the last two months.
Recall that the assembly had earlier in March 6 gave President Buhari the go ahead to borrow $22.7 billion for similar purpose.
The national assembly has approved loans of $28.2 billion sought by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said all the roadblocks that earlier prevented the approval have been removed, adding that an agreement has been reached with the executive not to leave out any part of the country in the provision of infrastructure.
He said there’s a huge infrastructure gap that needed to be bridged across the country.
Gbajabiamila said “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.”
Similarly, the Senate also approved the loan after a report presented by its committee on local and foreign debt presented its report to plenary.
Clifford Ordia, the chairman of the committee said all due diligence had been done before recommending the loans for approval, adding that the loans are low interest ones with very low interest rates.
The committee, he said “observed that the financing is being sourced from Multilateral and Bilateral global donor Lenders and partners with proven track record of previous financial accommodation and support to the federal government.”
The committee notes that as regards the IMF loan, there are no usual onerous conditions for borrowing, such as Currency Devaluation and Deregulation of Certain Sectors of the Economy attached to this loan.
The committee notes that the borrowings are largely concessional loans with low interest rates and very long moratorium and payback period.”
Meanwhile, the biggest opposition party in the country, Peoples Democratic Party had earlier called on the National Assembly not to approve the loan, insisting that the country was now on a life support considering its foreign debt portfolio.
A human rights body, Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP has also demanded from the president, to make public the spending details of all loans his administration has obtained since 2015 when it came to power.
The Debt Management Office, DMO said the nation’s total debt is now over N33 trillion.
