Buhari’s N30trn CBN loan probe on course – Senate

From Fred Itua, Abuja

The Senate has said investigation into the N30 trillion ways and means facility expended by the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government between 2015 and 2023 is on course.
Ad-hoc Committee Chairman, Isah Jibrin, made the declaration in a statement, refuting an online report which alleged that the investigation was in limbo.
On March 11, 2024, Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, inaugurated a 17-member ad hoc committee to probe the N30 trillion ways and means secured under Buhari and report in six weeks.
The deadline is nine weeks behind schedule and the panel is yet to submit its report.
But, the committee in the rebuttal, attached a letter of reminder written to the office of the Accountant General for the Federation, requiring vital information for thoroughness of the investigative exercise.
Jibrin, who doubles as chairman, Senate Committee on Customs and Excise Duties, explained in the statement that though the ad-hoc committee was given six weeks when inaugurated in March to carry out the exercise and report back to the Senate, but thoroughness and diligence required for the sensitive national assignment had made the committee to exceed the time.
“The essence of an investigation is to come up with factual findings and not just roll in a report within a specified time frame. Investigation on the N30 trillion Ways and Means is on course and not, in any way, in limbo as insinuated by an online platform.
“Some of the required findings have been made and still being made as clearly shown by a letter of reminder recently written to the office of Accountant General of the Federation,” he said.
The letter dated, June 19, 2024, personally signed by Jibrin and entitled: “Request for Submission of Additional Information,” reads: “You may recall our earlier letter on the above subject dated, May 27, 2024, requesting for the following additional information on Ways and Means, which you are yet to respond to.
“The required information are details of disbursements under ways and means; names of the beneficiaries; amount/date of disbursements; purpose of the disbursements; terms of the disbursement (where applicable ); repayment schedule (where applicable) and adherence to the repayment schedule.”
Ways and Means is a loan facility through which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), finances the Federal Government’s budget shortfalls.
This way of financing government deficits usually results in macro-economic instability, leading to inflation and high exchange rates because of the excess liquidity injected into the economy.
The CBN law limits advances under ways and means to five per cent of the previous year’s revenue, but this has been mostly breached over the years.
As a way of remedying the situation, the CBN Governor, Olayemi Cardoso, declared in February that the bank would no longer grant ways and means advances to the government ‘until all outstanding debts are refunded.’