From Kemi Yesufu and Ndubuisi Orji , Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday wrote the National Assembly seeking for approval to borrow $29.960 billion externally for the 2016-2018 rolling plan.
He explained in the three-page letter dated October 20, 2016, addressed to Speaker Yakubu Dogara, that $11.274 billion is for special national infrastructure projects while the sum of $10.686 billion is for Euro bonds of $4.5 billion and Federal Government Budget Support of $3.5 billion.
Other projects listed in the borrowing plan include: $75 million for community and social development project, $125 million for Nigeria States Health Programme Investment Project; $100 million for State Education Programme Investment Project; $100 million for Nigeria Youth Employment and Social Support Project and $50 million for FADAMA III Project respectively.
Seeking speedy and approval, he said interventions and projects in the borrowing plan were “selected based on positive technical economic evaluations as well as the contributions they would make to socio-economic development of the country including employment generation and poverty reduction and protection of the most vulnerable and very poor segment of the society.
“Considering the huge infrastructure deficit currently being experienced in the county and enormous financial resources required to fill the gap in the face of the dwindling resources and the inability of our national budgetary provisions to bridge the infrastructure deficit,it has become necessary to resort to prudent external borrowing to bridge the financing gap which will largely be applied to let infrastructure projects namely: power, railway, and road projects among others”, the letter read.
Recession: President keeps NASS waiting
Three weeks after the Senate passed a resolution, summoning President Muhammadu Buhari to address a joint session of the National Assembly on how to get the country out of recession, the Presidency is yet to officially communicate to the leadership of both chambers on the proposed date to appear.
The Senate had on October 6, and in concurrence with the resolution of the House of Representatives, passed on September, 22, 2016 to invite the President, unanimously agreed to grill him on plans to get the country out of the woods.
The Presidency through its Senior Special Assistant on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, told correspondents that a date was yet to be fixed when Buhari will address the National Assembly
Enang said he was not privy to the date, but noted that as the liaison officer to Buhari, he has already forwarded the resolutions of lawmakers to the Presidency.
“On the invitation to Mr. President to come and address the National Assembly, I want to say that there were so many resolutions contained there and most of them are being addressed – the concerns of the legislature. On the resolution which asked Mr. President to come to address the joint session, I want to say that this was appropriately communicated and transmitted.
“Having been transmitted, it is the response that people are expecting. The response will come but I will not be able to be categorical now. I am not supposed to be categorical because that is a communication between the National Assembly and Mr. President and they are relating,” Enang told newsmen.
The Senate, prior to the invitation of the President, had submitted 20-point resolutions to Buhari on how to get the country out of recession.