Follow Us on Google
Fred Itua, Abuja
The raging controversy over the recent approval of the $22.7 billion loan request by the Senate, may likely not fizzle out anytime soon. The alleged exclusion of the South East, alleged lack of clear repayment plan, fear over eventual misappropriation of the funds, and the country’s rising debt profile, are among key issues stakeholders are still questioning.
In 2016, President Muhammadu, tried without success, to get the nod of the National Assembly to approve the same request. The 8th Senate, led by Bukola Saraki and the House of Representatives, led by Yakubu Dogara, vehemently trashed the request without any consideration.
According to them, Nigeria was not in need of such a humongous amount of loan to fund its infrastructure deficit. They also argued then that the country was already overburdened with a rising debt profile. For about three years, President Buhari kept mute on the issue.
Since the request wasn’t considered by the 8th Senate, no one could allege or tell if any part of the country was excluded. Beside the usual exchange of banters between the Executive and the Parliament, the issue was buried immediately.
Barely six months after the 9th National Assembly came on board, President Buhari, without altering a sentence, sent the same draft to the Parliament for consideration.
The issue was yet to be debated on the floor of the upper legislative chamber or referred to the relevant committees, when the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan told newsmen that the loan request will be approved.
“The question of whether we will pass (approve) 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 them, 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 spillover 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,” Lawan had affirmed.
For many pundits and observers, Lawan’s preemptive statement portrayed the Senate as a rubber stamp Assembly and an appendage to the Executive Arm. Stakeholders also faulted Lawan’s hasty position on the issue, citing the inability of the Parliament to critically examine the request since he had already promised that it would be passed.
The raging battle over the loan request reached new heights about a fortnight ago when the Senate hurriedly approved the request, despite a lone protest by the Minority Leader of the Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe, that the report of the Committee on Local and Foreign Debt, be exhaustively debated.
As soon as it was passed and contents of the document became public, it was clear that some parts of the country were completely alienated from the deal. Whereas, the repayment funds will be sourced from every part of the country, including areas not captured in the proposal.
Buhari had said that the loan was to “ensure the prompt implementation of projects under the borrowing plan with special emphasis on infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, growth and employment generation, poverty reduction through social safety net programmes, governance and financial management reforms among others.”
Details of the loan as approved by the Senate show that South West got $200, 000, 000. 00, South South got $4, 270, 000, 000. 00, South East $0, 000, 000, 000, North West got $6, 372, 000, 000. 00, North East got $300, 000, 000. 00, while North Central got $6, 531, 000, 000.
For general, about $5, 853, 900, 000. 00 was approved by the Senate, as recommended by its Committee on Local and Foreign Debt.
A further breakdown showed projects expected to gulp the funds. South West– Power transmission project ($200m; Lagos, Ogun).
South South – East-West road ($800m; Niger Delta); Railway modernisation coastal railway project (Calabar-Port Harcourt-Onne deep seaport segment, $3.47bn; Cross River and Rivers states)
South East- Nil
North East – Multi-sectoral crises recovery programme ($200m, North East); North East Nigeria integrated social protection, basic health, education, nutrition services and livelihood restoration project ($100m North East); Lake Chad Basin Commission ($13m, multinational).
North West– Kano – Lagos railway modernisation project (Kano – Ibadan segment double track) ($5.53bn; Kano – Ibadan); Vocational training in power sector ($50m; FCT, Lagos, Ogun. Kano, Plateau, Niger, Enugu, Kaduna and Cross River); Kaduna State economic transformation programme for results ($35m, Kaduna); National Information and Communication Technology Infrastructural Backbone Project (NICTIB) phase II ($328.1m; Lagos, Abuja, Ibadan, Akure, Maiduguri, Lokoja, Kaduna, Akwanga, Bauchi, Kano, Katsina); Health System Project ($110m, Katsina); Rural water supply and sanitation ($150m; North-East, and Plateau);Development of the mining industry ($150m, nationwide).
North Central – Staple crops processing zone support project ($100m, Kogi); Greater Abuja water supply project ($381m; FCT); Abuja mass rail transit project (phase 2), ($1.25bn; FCT); Mambila hydro-electric power project ($4.8bn; Taraba); Integrated programme for development and adaption to climate change in the Niger Basin ($6m; Nigeria and Niger Republic).
Despite the humongous amount approved, Daily Sun has learned that only about 60 per cent of the loan would be expended on projects. The other 40 per cent of the loan will be gulped by other miscellaneous expenses and consultancy services rendered by various interest groups.
A source who spoke to some newsmen in confidence, disclosed that though the Federal Government was aware that the remaining 60 per cent would not be enough for the projects for which the loan was sought, it had insisted on getting it notwithstanding.
In a belated move, members of the National Assembly from the South East, last week, kicked against the alleged exclusion of the geopolitical zone by Buhari.
The protesting lawmakers were led by a former Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, after meeting with Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila.
During the press briefing, he explained why they failed to push for the inclusion of the South East in the projects provided for in the loan.
The lawmakers explained that most of them were away on “oversight functions” outside Abuja on the day the loan was approved by the Senate.
The lawmakers were however evasive when asked to mention the particular point of assurance they obtained from the Senate President and House of Representatives Speaker.
They, however, expressed hope that since the loan was yet to be approved by the House of Representatives, there was still an opportunity to make a case for the inclusion of the South East.
With the exception of Senate Minority Leader, Eyinnaya Abaribe, who attempted to get the Senate to debate the details of the loan request, no other South East senator spoke when the loan request was approved by the upper legislative chamber.
Ekweremadu stated: “Regrettably last Thursday, the Senate passed the borrowing plan which excluded the entire South East. We like to thank our colleagues who stood their ground and made spirited efforts to ensure there is equitable distribution. Some of us were not in chambers. We went for the INEC retreat on electoral Reform in Lagos.
“We met as a caucus of the South East of the national Assembly last night after consulting with our people and getting their feelings regarding the issue. We decided that the best approach would be a constructive engagement with the national assembly leadership.
“This afternoon we had a very good conversation with the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and we had a meaningful discussion.
“They showed not just concern but commitment to addressing these issues and they have promised that the matter would either be revisited particularly as it has not been passed in the House. They said the appropriate thing would be done and our peoples’ fears would be assuaged.”
Meanwhile, details are emerging on what sources have described as a legislative coup by the Senate leadership.
A source, who craved anonymity, said there was a calculated attempt to maneuver the legislative process to get a desired result.
It was gathered that whereas it is the tradition of the Senate to email the Order Paper in the evening ahead of each legislative day or at worst early in the morning of the legislative day, to put Senators on notice of the agenda of the legislative business for the day, the Order Paper for the fateful Thursday was not mailed to lawmakers.
Also, it was alleged that the Senate leadership cashed in on the poor attendance on Thursday, which is the last plenary for the week.
It was a day many committees embark on oversight functions and other legislative businesses.
On that Thursday, for instance, the Leader of the South East Caucus, Ekweremadu and some other South East Senators, who were members of the Senate Committee on the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) were attending the INEC retreat on Electoral Reform in Lagos.
Some other members of the Senate, especially those in the Judiciary Committee were equally attending the valedictory session of the retiring President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa.
“Also, if you observed, what was on that Order Paper for the day when it eventually came out was Submission of Report, not Consideration of Report. But they still ensured that it was considered and approved the same day. Normally, Senators go home with the reports when laid and study it then prepare for consideration the following legislative day at the earliest,” the source said.
Following the protest, the House of Representatives, which some pundits have described as more in tune with the current realities, has suspended the consideration and approval of the loan request.
It is unclear if the President of the Senate, Lawan will cave in, despite his earlier defiant stance and allow for a fresh consideration of the request to enable any part of the country left out to be accommodated.
Amid the controversy, the Federal Government has announced the suspension of the loan. Minister of Finance and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, made the revelation at the 2020 International Conference on the Nigerian Commodities Market organized by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in Abuja.
She said the decision to jettison the plan was taken “due to current realities in the global economic landscape.”
She said the government would not even be keen to proceed with the borrowing plan even if the National Assembly gives the approval for it to go ahead.
She said: “The current market indices do not support any external borrowings at the moment, despite that the parliament is still doing its work on the borrowing plan.
“One arm of the parliament has completed their work, and the other arm is still working. So, it is a process controlled entirely by the parliament itself. We are waiting.”
