UPROAR AS SENATE APPROVES JONATHAN’S $1BN LOAN REQUEST

The Senate on Thursday approved President Goodluck Jonathan’s request to borrow a $1bn external loan to fight insurgency in the country.

The decision was taken following the consideration of the report of the Senate Joint Committee on Finance, and that of Local and Foreign Debt, presented by the Chairman, Senator Ahmed Makarfi.

Makarfi said the loan facility request was not in cash but in supply of military hardware to be paid for, over a period of seven years.

President Goodluck Jonathan

He said the interest terms rate could not be indicated because it was the suppliers of the military hardware that would negotiate such agreement.

He said, “Also the request is for a ceiling of $1bn and not that, at the moment the whole amount would be utilised. Government will procure on the terms stated, based on needs assessment of our security agencies.”

There was however a sharp disagreement among the senators when Senate President, David Mark; his deputy, Ike Ekweremadu; and Makarfi, urged their colleagues not to subject the report to debate because of its security implications.

But members of the opposition All Progressives Congress led by the Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume, made serious efforts to frustrate the approval of the loan and the development generated a heated argument that nearly degenerated into a crisis.

It was in the midst of the confusion that Mark called for a voice vote to determine the approval or rejection of the loan.

Members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party in the upper chamber, however, had their way as they voted in support while their counterpart in the APC, voted against it.

Makarfi had while presenting the report, noted that the security situation in the north-eastern states of Adamawa, Borno and Yobe had continued to deteriorate despite the imposition of state of emergency in the region.

He said, “Therefore, the urgent need to upgrade the equipment, training and logistics of our Armed Forces and Security Services to enable them to confront this serious security threat, cannot be over-emphasised.”

Makarfi added that the requested loan was for helicopters ships, armaments, and hardware equipment, which he said were crucial for decisive victory over the terrorists.

However, Senator Olubunmi Adetunmbi (APC, Ekiti North), immediately raised a constitutional and legal point of order by citing section 81(4) A and B of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) to challenge the approval of the loan.

He said the section reads that, “if in respect of any financial year, it is found that, the amount appropriated by the Appropriation Act for any purpose is insufficient or a need has arisen for expenditure for a purpose for which no amount had been appropriated in the act, a supplementary estimates showing the sums required, shall be laid before each House of the National Assembly and the heads of any such expenditure shall be included in a supplementary appropriation bill.”

Adetunmbi then argued that the request to the best of his ability had consequences for the existing Appropriation Act.

He said, “We do not question the right of Mr. President to ask for money or ask to borrow money but there is a process that needs to be followed and the provisions of the constitution for this process is what I just read.

However, Makarfi reacted that all the issues raised by Adetunmbi were not relevant to the issue being considered because there was no inflow or outflow of cash in the loan request.

But the Senate Minority Leader, Senator George Akume, insisted that Adetunmbi had raised fundamental issues that touched on the constitution.

culled from Punch