Senate’s Rejection Of $30bn Loan Request Should Be Seen As Patriotic Move – Lai Mohammed

BEVERLY HILLS, November 3, (THEWILL) – The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has stated that the decision of the Senate to reject the proposed $29.96 billion external borrowing plan should be seen as a patriotic move, adding that the federal government would explore both formal and informal avenues to persuade the Senate to approve the plan.

The minister, who made this known on Wednesday while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting, stated that the council reaffirmed its commitment to engaging the National Assembly to ensure that the proposed three-year borrowing plan is approved.

Pointing out that the decision to step down President Muhammadu Buhari's request by the Senate he explained that it is not unusual for the executive and the National Assembly to have agreements and disagreements.

Mohammed however assured Nigerians that the Executive arm of government would continue to engage the National Assembly through formal and informal channels and possibly re-present the request with detailed information to the lawmakers after fine-tuning it.

The Senate had rejected the request of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led government for authorisation to borrow about $29.96 billion over a three-year period.

He made the requests in two separate letters to the President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara.

Buhari had explained that the external loans would fund targeted projects cutting across all sectors with special emphasis on infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, growth and employment generation.

Other sectors include poverty reduction through social safety net programmes and governance and financial management reforms, among others.