Senate President, Senator Ahmad Lawan on Monday an hint that the Senate would pass a $29.96 billion loan request by President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said the Senate would approve the loan request but would ensure adequate oversight.
Lawan said, “We are going to be critical that every cent that is borrowed is tied to a project.”
It would be recalled that President Muhammad had on November 28, forwarded a request to the Senate to reconsider and approve the federal government’s 2016 to 2018 external borrowing plan.
In the loan request, Buhari said the loan will be used to execute key infrastructural projects across the country between 2016 and 2018.
Buhari explained that the external borrowing plan targets projects cuts across all sectors with special emphasis on infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, growth and employment generation.
While reacting to the 2016 rejection, Mr Lawan, who was then a senator, said the Senate was right then to have rejected the loan request.
“In 2016, there were no sufficient details,” he said, adding that “the executive has learnt its lessons.”
He said President Buhari had provided necessary details of what the loan would be used for in his new request.
“The letter conveying the loan request of the executive came with every possible details,” he said.
(C) Control TV 2019.
