President Buhari’s N23.7 Trillion Loan Request Generates Mixed Reactions Among Senators

By Akinwale Kasali

It was a rowdy session at the plenary Wednesday, as Senators took on one another over  the request from President Muhammadu Buhari for a loan to the tune of N23.7 trillion.

The loan, planned to be used for Ways and Means Advances restructuring was read to the Senators by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who was in company with  the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila to members of both  chambers.

In the request titled: ‘Restructuring of Ways and Means Advances,’ the President wrote: “The Ways and Means Advance by the Central Bank of Nigeria to the Federal Government, has been a funding option to the   to cater for short-term or emergency finance to fund delayed government’s expected cash receipt of fiscal deficit.

“The Ways and Means balance as of 19th December 2022, is N23,719,703,774,306.90.

“I have approved the securitisation of the Ways and Means balances along the following terms: amount, N23.7tn; tenure, 40 years; moratorium on principal repayment, three years; pricing interest rate, nine per cent.”

Having read the request to the hearing of the Lawmakers, the session became rowdy as mixed reactions trailed it.

Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Solomon Adeola, was reporting the Committee’s finding on the Ways and Means when the Lawmaker representing Rivers West, Senator Betty Apiafi, stood up to counter the new borrowings, and the Senate President shouted her down.

This didn’t augur well with other Lawmakers who frowned at the way the Senate President shouted at  Apiafi, and emotions and tempers began to boil.

The Senators and the House  of Representatives members stood up, and began to shout at each other  aggressively.

This forced the Senate President to call for a closed door session.

Lawmakers such as Senator Smart Adeyemi (APC, Kogi West), and George Sekibo (PDP Rivers) raised a motion in support of Apiafi and said  that the Senate President had no powers to shout down a senator.

Details Later….