President Muhammadu Buhari requested N22.7 trillion debt restructuring in December of last year, and according to Senate President Ahmad Lawan, the Senate is making preparations to approve it.
President Muhammadu Buhari requested a N22.7 trillion debt restructuring in December of last year, and according to Senate President Ahmad Lawan, the Senate, prepared to approve it.
Buhari had urged the legislature to approve the proposal, warning that failure to do so would result in the government having to pay an additional N1.8 trillion in interest in 2023.
The legislators, led by Senator Betty Apiafi of Rivers West, had passionately opposed the ratification of the “securitization” of the advances that had been obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria during the previous 10 years in addition to the N1 trillion that was to be obtained as new domestic debt.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed, accused by the Senate for delaying the delivery of the required paperwork including information on the Ways and Means Advances.
According to the senators, the President and the CBN governor violated the Constitution.
Lawan, however, requested information about the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means restructuring request during plenary on Tuesday.
The National Assembly must receive the requested information from Ahmed and Emefiele within three days, according to a special directive from the Senate President.
He claimed that the Senate prepared to approve the proposal following careful review, which could only take place if pertinent representatives from the executive branch of government submitted the necessary information.
“We must have the information needed for passage of the N22.7tn proposal, and time is running out in the Senate given the impending general elections,” he stated.
The affected officials from the executive must also move quickly to provide the necessary information as regards documents authorizing approval and disbursement of the money totaling N22.7 trillion. “If there is a need for the Senate to sit up until Friday this week for thorough consideration and passage of the request, the senate would.
