Nigeria’s Senate president, Ahmed Lawan has said that the Nigeria is a poor nation hence the need for continued borrowing.
He disclosed that the country had no choice but borrow to fund infrastructure development. He made these comments when he visited the Presidential Villa, Abuja, where he met President Muhammadu Buhari behind closed doors.
Fielding questions from newsmen after the meeting, Lawan, however, assured that the legislature would “not be frivolous” in granting executive requests for loans. He said such requests would be subjected to thorough scrutiny by the parliament before approval, to ensure the use of the loan is monitored via an oversight arrangement.
The lawmaker further indicated that there were other outstanding issues requiring the attention of the parliament including the need to consider the President’s request for a loan before the Assembly proceeds on its summer break.
“We also have the loan request from Mr. President. The request is to fund the 2021 Appropriation Act and, of course, this is not a new request. It’s something that we had passed in the MTEF and it’s something that when we passed the 2021 budget, we also passed that.
“So, it’s only to give the necessary legislative approval for the administration to go further and collect the funds.” he said.
