The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has revealed reasons why the much-criticized $22.7 billion loan request was suspended by the National Assembly.
Gbajabiamila stated that the loan request was put on ice because the South-East was excluded from the budget of the loan. He made this known on Wednesday while addressing Faith Forum leaders from the South-east and South-south.
It will be recalled that the National assembly initially approved the loan but had to suspend it after senators from the south-east mounted a protest over the region’s exclusion.
Gbajabiamila explained that all regions of the country must be included in the loan. He said;
“If government believes that there’s need for the loan, I think we should support that because they know as they’re the ones that see what is needed and what is not needed. What I think for me is more important is the equity of the law and whether or not we’re able to distribute these things fairly considering the very nature of the structure of our country.”
“I know there has been a lot of agitation about the south-east not benefiting from the loan. It is one of the reasons we haven’t considered the loan in the house. It’s a matter that we’re looking at seriously. I’m hoping that there will be some kind of amicable resolution so that everybody will be carried along.”
The spending plan from the loan was met with a lot of criticisms online over the exclusion of the South-east.
