How Senate President, Lawan, railroaded senators to approve $22.7b loan for Buhari

 

• Abaribe protests, leads walkout

 

BY OUR EDITOR

Things came to a head Thursday before the senate finally approved a $22.7 billion loan request by President Muhammadu Buhari, to be spent by the Federal Government on the execution of key infrastructure projects.

While president of the senate, Ahmed Lawan, wanted the loan request approved, as submitted by the senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts led by the chairman, Senator Clifford Ordia (PDP Edo Central), Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (PDP, Abia South), insisted it must be scrutinised before approval.

Vanguard reports that there was confusion in the red chamber during the consideration of the report which forced senators into an executive session from 12.40 to 1.30 pm.

After the presentation of the report by Senator Ordia, the president of the Senate insisted that the lawmakers should go to the recommendations and vote.

This did not, however, go down well with the Senator Abaribe, who insisted there must be line by line consideration of the report and the recommendations before the voting process and cautioned strongly against Nigeria’s rising debt profile.

“He who goes aborrowing; goes asorrowing,” Abaribe said, but Lawan overruled him, arguing that what he wanted was against Senate procedures.

Not satisfied, Abaribe returned raising another Point of Order, accusing the Senate President of trying to force him and the rest of his colleagues to approve the loan without their inputs.

READ: Financial analyst says Nigeria lacks capacity to borrow $23bn

The chamber became tensed as the debate was now between Lawan and Abaribe.

To save the situation, Senator Gabriel Suswam (PDP, Benue North East), asked that the Senate should go into an Executive Session for 10 minutes where the knotty issues of lopsided allocation of projects would be resolved.

But the president of the senate rejected the call for a closed session, stressing that this would have happened prior to plenary.

“We are at the point of no return,” Lawan said, and this did not go down well with Abaribe as he stood up to speak again, citing Order 14(C) of the Senate Standing Orders as amended.

Lawan then made a U-turn on his position and now called for a closed-door session.

When the doors reopened, the Senate had reached a compromise, as the senate president announced that the loan requested for had been approved.

When the Senators reconvened after the Executive Session, not satisfied with what happened and to protest against what they described as the forcible nature the request was approved, Senator Abaribe led other minority principal officers out of the hallowed chamber.

However, in approving the loan, the Senate resolved that the Loan and Financing agreement containing the whole terms and conditions of the loan from the funding agencies must be forwarded to the National Assembly, prior to the execution of same for concurrence and proper documentation.

READ: Senate to approve Buhari’s $30 billion loan request

The funding agencies for the loan include the World Bank, $2,854,000,000; African Development Bank (ADB) $1,888,950,000; Islamic Development Bank (IDB), $110,000,000; Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), $200,000, 000; German Development Bank (KFW), $200,000,000; China Exim Bank, $17,065,496,775; and French Development Agency (AFD), $480,000,000.

“A further breakdown of the loan request showed that Kaduna State government will receive the sum of $305 million, while Katsina and Kogi will get $100 million, each.

Other beneficiaries of the loan are the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), $470m; the Federal Ministry of Works, the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of Information and Culture.

According to the loan, World Bank-supported projects are Nigeria Electricity Transmission and Access Project – $364,000,000; Social Inclusion and Welfare Advancement project (Renamed National Social Safety Net Project), among a long list of others.