The House of Representatives has declared that it would not consider the request by President Muhammadu Buhari seeking its approval for an external loan of $29.96 billion (N9 trillion) until necessary details including the borrowing plan and sources of the loan are provided.

This is just as the House promised to kick-start the new legislative year with the 2017 appropriation bill, so as to avoid delay in the passage and eventual implementation of the budget.

The green chamber, however, promised to ensure a clean and transparent process in passing the budget.

Chairman of the House committee on media and publicity, Namdas Abdulrazak, in an interview with LEADERSHIP, noted that the House would consider the budget proposal upon resumption of plenary by January 10, 2017, but said his colleagues may not consider the loan request until the details, some of which the Senate had already requested are provided by the Presidency.

“The budget is the most important bill in the house and nobody can joke with it. We will consider the appropriation bill as soon as we resume in the new year, the $29.96 billion loan request is not dead in the House, we are still going to debate it,” he said.

Recall that the Senate had on November 1, rejected President Buhari’s external borrowing request, citing lack of documents supporting the request as referenced in the letter by the president.

When pointedly asked why the House had not considered the president’s request, Namdas said since the loan request had suffered a setback at the upper legislative chamber, it would be fruitless to consider it at the lower chamber until the details required by the Senate are provided.

“You know that it suffered a setback in the Senate, and it cannot pass without concurrence of the two legislative assemblies, so anything we are doing will be an exercise in futility if the details required by the Senate are not presented. It then means that the details required by the Senate should be made available before the National Assembly will consider the request,” Namdas stated.

He reiterated that the 2017 budget was the most important bill before the National Assembly at the moment, and assured that the House will ensure that it receives immediate attention for quick passage and timely implementation.

“Essentially, the 2017 budget proposal is the most important bill before the National Assembly and the House will treat it with urgency and expedite action on it,” he added.

LEADERSHIP recalls that the president had in separate letters to the Senate and House of Representatives, explained that the $29.96 billion external loan was to promptly implement projects that cut across agriculture, health, education, and water supply.

The president, in the letter, noted that the projects and programmes under the external borrowing plan were selected based on positive technical economic evaluations, as well as the contributions they would make to the socio-economic development of the country, including employment generation, poverty reduction, and protection of the nation’s vulnerable population.

He said some of the funds would be deployed to emergency projects in the North-east, particularly following the outbreak of polio after the de-listing of Nigeria from polio endemic countries.

The World Bank has provided a loan of $125 million for the federal government to procure vaccines and other ancillary facilities to stop the polio outbreak, and also provided $450 million to assist in the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the North-east, the president disclosed.

The entire projects for the North-east, according to the president’s letter, are: polio eradication support and routine immunisation ($125 million), community and social development projects ($75 million), Nigeria States and Health Programme Investment Project ($125 million), State Education Programme Investment Project ($100 million), Nigeria Youth Employment and Social Support Project ($100 million), and Fadama III Project ($50 million).

“Given the emergency nature of these facilities and the need to consolidate the peace and return the region to normalcy, and considering the time it would take to get National Assembly’s approval, it has become inevitable to request for the National Assembly leadership’s approval, pending the consideration and approval of the 2016-2018 borrowing plan by the National Assembly to enable us disburse these funds immediately,” Buhari said in the letter.

http://leadership.ng/news/565232/house-gives-conditions-for-approval-of-n9trn-loan

9 trillion? Am I missing something? Or are we borrowing forward? The proposed deficit in 2017 is less than 3 trillion Naira. Hope we are not creating more problems for the future.

B

I knew they were going to approve it at last. Baba has a way of getting them to do what he wants. waiting for them to reconsider their position on Magu's case.

Almost everything Buhari sends to the national assembly is either rejected or sent back for amendment. I wonder what Senator Ita Enang is really doing in Buhari's administration.

Keep deceiving yourselves there.... yeye politicians looking for "breakdown" of their share.

What's tha business?

The real condition no go pass their cut in the loan, no be NASS again

Hmmmmm.. All these borrowing... Who go pay in the later future.... Still piling debts for younger generations just to make this few years better.... Just saying sha

I don't get why the government needs a loan. There are a lot of other safer options available eg solid minerals, tourism and agriculture which can raise the required needed for industrilization.

Continue to Rape dem

My own condition be say, him government must b d one to pay it back

Its normal for the NASS to ask for the source of the loan and the conditions attached to it as well as the application of the loan. Other interests might be associated but I support the NASS on this.

more money to share

I once heard someone say that Buhari is using the Nation's Budget for MMM...
The scenario here is similar; giving out loan to get interest!

Nice One..

We will not accept loans that will be shared among the Cabals only for Atiku to start Repaying from 2019.


Brb

The same criminals

Ok

How many of these house of rep members are knowledgeable enough to understand the full details?

All they know is to sleep and share money

However, Mr. Sanusi stated that even if the National Assembly eventually grants the request, no global financial institution would give such loan.

His words: “I can tell you for free, if the Senate today approves that we can borrow $30 billion, honestly, no one will lend us.”

“It should be approved and I will like to see how you will go to the international market with an economy that has five exchange rates.

“There is one rate for petroleum marketers, there is interbank rate, there is another for money market operators such as western union, money gram, there is bureau de change rate and there is a special rate you get when you call the CBN for a transaction.

“So who will borrow you when they don’t know your exact reserve and exchange rate? I want to see who will borrow you money when the Niger Delta bombing of oil is there ‎when the main source of the loan repayment is oil.”

Are you a learner? FG has two impeding loan requests already. The house is yet to consider any approval of such loans. And again, the approval or Magu as EFCC chairman is still pending, among others. So, what are you about baba having a way of getting them to do whatever he wants. For where?

alizma:
I knew they were going to approve it at last. Baba has a way of getting them to do what he wants. waiting for them to reconsider their position on Magu's case.

Buhari will never use our oil in his government period!!

modath:

"No matter what the Legislathieves do, the 1.7bn each as "constituency projects allowance" they are requesting must never be allowed to see the light of day" ...

That is the koko.

adeaks:
Almost everything Buhari sends to the national assembly is either rejected or sent back for amendment. I wonder what Senator Ita Enang is really doing in Buhari's administration.

Are you psychologically alright? You'll just sit in your small cubicle and start typing rubbish because you have access to data abi

How on earth will you request for loan without giving the source to NASS. Wicked government of Nigeria (WGN).

$29.96 billion?! Buhari wants to be the richest political thief in West Africa.

Every day it is billions and trillions

Yet inflation and recession persist

Oildichotomy:


It is akin to giving a LIFE pistol to a 5year old.

Nwokem which one be "life pistol" again?

momentarylapse:



Nwokem which one be "life pistol" again?

Nna enn. I don't know again sef. The thing momentarily lapse my memory