THE Nigerian Senate has approved a $500 million loan request by President Bola Tinubu for metering electricity users.
The fund was approved for the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) after considering the report of the committee on local and foreign debt, presented by Haruna Manu, the committee’s vice chairman.
The $500 million loan is part of the $7.94 billion loan that President Bola Tinubu sought the Senate’s approval for on November 1st, 2023 under the 2022-2024 external borrowing plan.
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The President also sought approval for another €100 million.
However, the Senate approved borrowing $7.4 billion during its special plenary on December 30 after considering the report of the committee on local and foreign debt.
Manu, while presenting the report, said the remaining part of the loan ($500 million) for the BPE could not be approved because the agency did not appear before the committee.
Speaking further, he reiterated that the terms and conditions under which the loan was brought would not in any manner compromise the sustainability of Nigeria’s economic growth or hinder the integrity and independence of Nigeria as a sovereign nation.
“The Committee recommends that the Senate do approve the ongoing negotiations of the external borrowing for $500m for BPE; that the terms of the loan from the funding agency be forwarded to the National Assembly before execution”, the committee’s vice chairman said.
After considering the report, Senate President Jibrin Barau, the deputy Senate President approved the loan request.
The ICIR reported how the 11 electricity distribution companies (DisCos) relied on unmetered customers to earn profits, with the Federal government’s mass metering intervention moving at snail’s speed.
The Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC) in its data showed that there were 13.37 million registered electricity consumers as of the end of March 2024.
Out of that figure, only 5.989 million have meters, representing 44.78 per cent, and showing a deficit of some 7.4 million without the meter.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.