House approves $5.5bn loan request by Buhari, N10.8trn revised budget

 

BY NICHOLAS ABE

---

The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a $5.5 billion loan requested by President Muhammadu Buhari.

The House also passed the revised 2020 Appropriation Bill, raising the national budget from the proposed N10.5tn to N10.8tn.

The Committees on Appropriations and Finance, whose report was considered and adopted ‎at plenary had recommended N10,801,544,664,642, but the lawmakers inserted an additional N4 billion to cover for the welfare of members of the National Association of Resident Doctors who had threatened strike action.

President Buhari had written the House requesting approval for the federal government to obtain external loans totalling $5,513,000,000.

READ: Coronavirus forces review of Nigeria’s 2020 budget