PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has written the House of Representatives, seeking approval for a fresh $8 billion loan.
This was contained in a letter transmitted by the President to the legislators and read by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas during plenary on Tuesday, November 28.
“Following the removal of fuel subsidy and its attendant impact on our economy. African Development Bank and the World Bank Group have indicated interest in assisting the country to mitigate the impact with the sum of one million and 1.5 million USD respectively, in addition to the FEC-approved 2022-2024 external abridged borrowing plan.
“Consequently, the required approval is in the sum of 8,699 USD, 168,559 USD, and 100m Euro,” the Speaker read.
Tinubu had written to the Senate on Wednesday, November 1, seeking the loan approval.
The sum contained in the letter to the Senate was about $7.8 billion (7,864,508,559 dollars) and €100 million in loans, which is different from what was contained in the letter to the members of the House of Representatives.
According to the letter read by Senate President Godswill Akpabio during plenary on November 1, the loan would be utilised for projects across various sectors, including agriculture, health, education, and security.
“In view of the present economic realities facing the country, it has become imperative that the resolve to use external borrowing to breach the financing gap which will be applied to key infrastructure projects including power, railway, and health, among others.
“Given the nature of these facilities and the need to consolidate the country to normalcy, it has become exigent to request the Senate consideration and approval of the 2022- 2024 external borrowing plans to enable the government to deliver its responsibilities to Nigerians through expeditious disbursement and efficient projects implementation,” the letter further read.
Despite controversies surrounding its details, Tinubu recently passed a N2.17 trillion supplementary budget, approved by the Senate.
Public outrage trailed the President’s allocation of N28 billion for luxury cars for his wife’s (First Lady) office, which is not recognised by law, and the renovation of the President’s residence, among other allocations for the State House.
Ijeoma Opara is a journalist with The ICIR. Reach her via vopara@icirnigeria.org or @ije_le on Twitter.