Senate Receives N4.89trillion Loan Request From President Buhari
- Another loan has been demanded by President Muhammadu Buhari as the Nigerian leader plans to block its N5.62 trillion budget deficit
- President Buhari requested for N4.89 trillion through the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks submitted to the Senate
- The new loan request comes after President Buhari wrote a letter to the upper chamber, asking for their approval to a N2.3 trillion credit
The Senate has received another loan request from President Muhammadu Buhari following the submission of the 2022-2024 Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP).
President BuharI asked for approval to borrow N4.89 trillion. The loan will be used to finance the N5.62 trillion budget deficit for next year and improve the Nigerian economy.
The new loan request will increase Nigeria's total debt to N38 trillion if approved, but currently, the country's debt is put at N33.1 trillion as at March 31, 2021.
Source: Facebook
What you need to know
Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Zainab Ahmed, had stated the following about the budget and deficit:
"This means that this budget is just 3% higher than the 2021 budget in terms of the size of expenditure. We also reported to council the budget deficit and the financing items for the expenditure.
“The budget deficit that is projected for 2022 is 5.62 trillion, up from 5.60 trillion in 2021. This amount represents 3.05% of the estimated GDP, which is slightly above the 3% threshold that is specified in the Fiscal Responsibility Act.”
What the Senate is saying
The loan request is contained in the Medium Term Expenditure Frameworks and Fiscal Strategy Paper which are expected to be approved by the Senate on Thursday.
Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, transferred the submitted documents to joint committees after a motion for speedy review was moved by Senate Leader, Yahaya Abdullahi and seconded by Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe.
Committees on Finance, National Planning, Banking, Petroleum (Upstream), Petroleum (Downstream) and Foreign and Local Debts were given the responsibility to submit a consideration report on Thursday.
Lawan said the loan request must be considered and approved on Thursday before the lawmakers go on a long recess.
Senate approved N2.3 trillion loan
In related news, the Senate had previously approved N2.3 trillion loan which President Buhari had asked for. The loan will be obtained from multilateral and bilateral firms.
Although the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, said the loan request wasn't new at the time, and also stated that the lawmakers would oversee the spending.
He said the legislature won't allow the Federal Government indulge in frivolous spending of the loan.
Source: Legit.ng
