Senate gives Buhari nod to obtain N850bn loan

The Nigerian Senate on Tuesday granted the request of President Muhammadu Buhari to obtain N850 billion fresh loan to fund some projects in the 2020 budget.

Buhari had asked the upper chamber for approval to secure a fresh loan of N850 billion to fund some projects in the 2020 budget.

He made the request in a letter read by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on Tuesday on the floor of the upper chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja.

According to the letter, President Buhari sought to raise the loan from the domestic capital market to ensure adequate funds to finance projects in the budget.

After the letter was read, the lawmakers gave accelerated approval to the President’s request to raise the loan.

They also asked the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriation to liaise with the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to get more details on the loan request.

According to Channels TV, Buhari’s request was granted following the senators’ resumption from a recess which lasted about five weeks.

The lawmakers had gone on break since March as part of measures to curb the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in the country.

At the resumed plenary, the Senate President welcomed his colleagues and gave the reason for the resumption of plenary amid the rising cases of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

He explained that the decision was to help sustain solutions to the health crisis and ensure the crisis does not create more problems for the government and its people.

Senator Lawan stated that the pandemic has affected the 2020 budget and the National Assembly has a responsibility to work with the Executive to address the problem.