The Senate Committee on Public Accounts on Thursday announced the discovery of  $100 million unapproved loans allegedly spent on four airport terminals.

According to the Senate Committee, the loan was allegedly obtained by the country’s former Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and expended without the approval of then President Goodluck Jonathan.

The airport terminals on which the unapproved funds were expended  are those in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Lagos and Kano.

This revelation followed an investigative hearing organized by the Committee to ascertain the whereabouts of the ₦650 million Eurobond balance with the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Matthew Urhoghide (Edo South) while speaking during the hearing said: “They made payments to chains of companies and the letter on page 12 signed by one Haruna Mohammed only indicated that the ministry had written to the President informing him on how the money would be spent.

“What the Minister considered to be an approval was not so. The letter that was submitted was for the use of meter and based even on the $100 million.”

Senator Urhoghide noted that his committee discovered that President Jonathan only noted the letter which the ministry took to be an approval from him, stressing that the Minister never sought for President Jonathan’s approval before the Debt Management Office (DMO) acted on the letter as directed.

In her reaction, the Director-General of the DMO, Patience Oniha stressed that some high level discussions had taken place before the ministry took the action, adding that Okonjo-Iweala was also privy to the letter by Mohammed.