Boko Haram: Jonathan’s $1bn loan will cost Nigeria N30 bn as interest — Reps
Category: Nigerian National News
Related Posts:
The House of Representatives on Wednesday joined the Senate in
approving $1 billion (N165 billion) for President Goodluck Jonathan to
purchase military hardware for the fight against extremist group, Boko
Haram.
The lawmakers however warned that Nigeria will pay additional N30 billion to service the credit in seven years.
The Senate had on September 25 approved the request made by the
president to borrow the amount to tackle the national security
challenges.
The House, however, summoned the Minister of Finance, Ngozi
Okonjo-Iweala, to appear before its committees on aids, loans, debt
management and finance, and provide them with information regarding the
terms and conditions of the loan.
The lawmakers also requested the National Security Adviser, NSA, to
provide them with the breakdown of allocations that were appropriated to
the Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Army, Nigerian Navy, Department of
State Service, DSS, and Nigeria Police Force, NPF.
The decisions were reached during the consideration of the report
from Adeyinka Ajayi (APC- Osun)-led committees on aids, loans, debt
management and finance, after recommendation by the joint committees’
report.
The report was laid on the floor of the House on Tuesday.
The Speaker, Aminu Tambuwal, had last Tuesday issued a week ultimatum
to the Committees on Aids, Loans, Debt Management and Finance to
furnish the House with a report and recommendations on the president’s
loan request.
The house had referred the matter to the joint committee to investigate and advise it on the way forward.
Addressing the house on the matter, Chairman, Committee on Finance,
Abdulmumin Jibrin (APC-Kano), said the joint committee was yet to
conclude its assignment.
Mr. Jibrin, however, said the committee had so far discovered that
the loan would cost the nation N30 billion to service it in seven years.
He said that the joint committee had already engaged some
stakeholders and was still expecting to hold talks with others before
submitting its findings.
He said that in the course of the interface with stakeholders, the
committee discovered that even the military was at a loss as to how the
amount was going to be utilised.
He, thereafter, requested for additional two weeks to enable the committee to conclude work.
Mr. Tambuwal, in his ruling, said that he would only give the
committee one week because the issue was urgent and needed to be treated
as such.
A public hearing by the committee on the loan on September 30 could
not hold due to the absence of Okonjo-Iweala and Chief of Army Staff,
Lt. Gen. Kenneth Minimah.
Their absence forced the joint committee on finance and loans and debts to postpone the hearing.
This followed the report of the Senate Joint Committee on Finance, and Local and Foreign Debt, on the request.
(NAN)
- PDP Gives Jonathan and Other Aspirants One Week Ultimatum To Declare Interest
- NEMESIS! Igbinedion loses lawsuit to reclaim N3.3 billion lost to Venezuelan fraudsters
- Prostitutes in Abuja get 48-hour ultimatum to leave the city
- 'Don’t run for Presidency' – Sheikh Gumi advises Buhari (Read the full letter)
- Man Trying to Raise Money for His Wedding, Arrested For Drug Trafficking
Stay posted
No comments