The Senate on Wednesday resolved
to investigate Kogi State government on the allegation of borrowed $500 million
(180 billion) from the United Arab Emirates without the required constitutional
authorisation from the upper chamber.
It, therefore, mandated its
committee on Local and Foreign Debts to probe the allegation and establish the
approach used to access the loan and report back to the Senate.
These resolutions followed an
adopted motion sponsored by Senator Dino Melaye representing Kogi West.
In his lead debate, the lawmaker
pointed out that the State was already indebted to a whopping sum of N40
billion.
Melaye, who rose under orders 42
and 52, added that the alleged loan under investigation was christened Loan of
Debt Refinancing, ostensibly to avoid the state government from approaching the
National Assembly for approval.
He said the loan would be used to
fund the 2019 Kogi State and Presidential elections.
In his words, “What it means is
that the Government is borrowing to pay borrowed money.”
In his contribution, Senator Atayi
Idoko said that it was unacceptable for the people of the state to accept an
illegal borrowing and that it unacceptable for the Senate to allow the alleged
borrowing.
The lawmaker also regretted that
there were no capital projects going on in the State besides lingering unpaid
salaries by the state.
Senate President, Bukola Saraki
hit the gavel in affirmation of the majority resolution and accordingly
assigned the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts to investigate and
establish if the loan has been taken.
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com