The $22.7bn external borrowing plan of the federal government was approved by the Senate on Thursday, following an emergency closed-door session.
Buhari had made the loan request to support critical infrastructure projects under the 2016 – 2018 External Borrowing Plan.
The approval process for the loan by Senators triggered a debate in the upper chamber, with some senators supporting it while others opposed it and called for the details of the projects to be funded with the money.
This disagreement led to the Red Chamber going into a closed-door session, which lasted around 30 minutes. Subsequently, the lawmakers approved the two-item recommendation of the Committee on Local and Foreign Loans.
The controversy arose when Senator Clifford Ordia, Chairman of the Local and Foreign Loans Committee, submitted the report to the plenary without the details of the projects to be funded with the loan.
Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, the Senate Minority Leader, demanded the specifics of the projects to be executed, and urged the lawmakers to meticulously review the panel’s recommendations before passing the report. He emphasized that the Senate needed to examine each item of the report and determine which projects would contribute to the country’s economic growth.
Abaribe’s suggestion was dismissed by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, who explained that the report cannot be scrutinized clause by clause as it is not a bill.
Lawan stated, “What is here is what is to finance our capital budget and therefore it is important that we are conscious of the fact that we need to have the capital aspects of the budget funded.
“If we notice any lopsidedness, I think it may not just be for this Senate to just impede the progress, but it is important that it takes note of areas that are left out and then, in the next phase, we consider them.”
He mentioned that Abaribe could choose to vote against all the recommendations or make adjustments.
He further added, “What we want is to vote consciously on the projects, and until it is approved, there won’t be implementation of the capital budget.”
Following the closed-door session, the upper legislative chamber approved the loan request, with Lawan assuring that the loan would be utilized for projects to enhance the lives of Nigerians.