For several hours on Wednesday, lawmakers in the Nigerian Senate were unable to hear themselves out as the plenary session erupted in a total uproar over how to restructure the payment of N23. 7 trillion “Ways and Means” secured from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, in the last 10 years.
“Ways and Means” are loans or advances by the Central Bank to the Federal Government to enable it to cater for short-term or emergency finance to fund delayed government expected cash receipt of fiscal deficits.
President Buhari had last week asked the Senate to restructure the Ways and Means advances to raise the amount to N23.7trn with a tenor of 40 years, three years moratorium on repayment and an interest rate of 9%.
The balance of the “Ways and Means” owed by the Federal Government stood at N22. 7 trillion as of December 19, 2022.
What Buhari sent to the senate for restructuring is however in excess of an additional N1 trillion; bringing the total to 23.7 trillion which is required by Buhari to fund the 2022 supplementary budget.
The Senate immediately referred Buhari’s request to its Committee on Finance with a mandate to report back to it at a later date.
Trouble started on Wednesday even before the report of the Senate Committee on Finance could be read and tabled for consideration by the Chairman, Senator, Solomon Adeola Olamilekan(APC, Lagos West) as Senator Betty Apiafi (PDP, Rivers West) raised a constitutional point of order to the effect that “Ways and Means” are not known anywhere in the Nigerian laws for appropriation and expenditure of funds.
The Rivers State-born lawmaker stated that the only two ways known to the law and available to the Federal Government are through the budget and supplementary budget as she urged the Senate not to be a party to any act of illegality.
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan wasted no time to completely rule Apiafi out of order.
But his action was not enough to quench the opposition to Buhari’s request to restructure the CBN loan. From that moment on, it became difficult for the Senate President to control the noise and grumblings coming from lawmakers who were not particularly pleased with his decision.
It took time for the rowdiness in the chamber to eventually simmer and for the floor to be cleared for Senator George Sekibo(PDP River East)to add his contribution to the matter in dispute.
Quoting copiously from the 1999 Constitution, the CBN Act and the Senate Standing Order, Sekibo was able to establish that the two options available to the government for expenditure are through the budget and supplementary budget.
He said even when the Federal Government can borrow short-term loans from the Central Bank, such monies must still be tabled before the National Assembly for appropriation and paid back to the CBN within the same fiscal year before it(CBN) could grant another request.
Buhari’s request to the senate to restructure the CBN loan, extending the tenor to 40 years will enable him to have access to more borrowings from the CBN.
Sekibo called on the Senate to step down the report, especially as the details of what the N22. 7 trillion borrowed from the CBN were yet to be made available to lawmakers.
With the strong line of arguments put forward by Sekibo on the matter, Senate was immediately forced behind closed doors to reach common ground on the matter.
When the senate reopened its doors almost one hour after, it reached a resolution to step down Buhari’s request to restructure the payment of the N22. 7 trillion borrowed by the Federal Government from the Central Bank of Nigeria in the last 10 years.
The upper legislative chamber then set up an Adhoc Committee chaired by the Senate leader, Ibrahim Gobri to engage with the CBN and other relevant government agencies on the breakdown of how the monies were expended.
The Senate however approved for Buhari to borrow the N819. 7 billion in the supplementary budget for 2022 from CBN provision of “Ways and Means”. AIT News