Senate President, Ahmed Lawan

The Senate President, Ahmed Lawan has said the Senate is set to approve the USD30 billion proposal forwarded to it  by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He disclosed this on Monday in Abuja. The previous Senate had rejected the request for lack of details but Lawan said the Executive had provided the details. He said:

“The question of whether we will pass the loan request of the executive arm of government, yes, we will pass it. If we don’t have money and you have projects to build, how will you provide infrastructure that you need?

“But one thing is that we are going to be critical that every cent that is borrowed is tied to a project. These are projects that will have spill-over effects on the economy and we will undertake our oversight so well to ensure that such funds are properly, prudently, economically and transparently applied on those projects.

“I want to inform this gathering and, indeed, Nigerians that the letter conveying the loan request of the executive came with every possible detail and, in fact, we will ensure that we are getting the right information from the executive arm of government. So, the situation is not the same.

“In 2016, there were no submission of details. This time, I think the executive has learnt its lesson and the letter came with sufficient details.”he said.

According to the Debt Management Office (DMO), the proposed loans are concessional, semi-concessional, long-tenured and are for the purpose of financing infrastructure and other developmental social projects, all of which have multiplier effects in terms of job creation, business opportunities and overall increase in Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product.