By Suleiman Umar
With the signing into Law of the N10. tn 2019 , budgetary provision, which had returned Nigerian, into the January-December Budget cycle, budget expenditure by President Muhammadu Buhari, on Tuesday , December, 17, 2019, not many had expected him to drop the plan of the still pushing for the external borrowing of $ 29.96 bn. They got it wrong.
This is because the Katsina state born Nigerian President is desperate to secure the foreign loan , which he believes would facilitate the execution of key projects in the country’s mining , power, agriculture, health and educational sectors of the economy.
The President was said to have made the first move to get the 8th National Assembly led by Bukola Saraki, a former governor of Kwara state to approve the request in 2016 but was not lucky. It was said to have been turned down by the Senate as Saraki was said to have used his political clout to force the Senators who under his control to reject it.
The Senators may not have wanted to play into Buhari’s hand in order to get their Constituency allowance vote as they were said to have approved part of the 2016 -2018 external borrowing package which Nigerian could access in the Paris Club, regarded in the international Community as the foreign Creditor.
The failure of the Saraki led 8th National Assembly to approve the entire N29.96 loan package, according to Ahmad Lawan, the Borno state born Politician and the Senate President stalled the execution of the key projects planned in the minining, power, agriculture , health and educational sectors of the economy in the first term of the Buhari admiration.
The Saraki led 8th Senate were said to have approved only the government’s emergency projects in the crisis thorn north eastern states of Adamawa, Borno, Taraba and Yobe states, particular, and one China Assisted Railway Modernisation projects for Lagos-Ibadan segment. The project s still on-going.
It was not surprising why there was jubilation in the All Progressive Congress, APC, camps that Saraki and the other APC Senators who rebelled against the party to team up with the opposition People’s Democratic Law makers to go against the party decision to installed its Candidates as the National Assembly leaders could not win their re-election bid into the 9th Senate in their respective states. The Statement by Adams Oshiomhole, a former governor of Edo state and National Chairman of the Party over the loss of Dino Meleaye to Smart Adeyemi, an ace photo Journalist from Kogi state in the rerun Senatorial election in Kogi state speaks volume.
He may have spoken the mind of the President when he said’’ Thank God , that Melaye, the last of the Saraki loyalties in the 8thSenator who were making things difficult for the President actualization of his electioneering Campaign promises through prompt approval of the yearly budgets and executive bills awaiting to pack his bag and baggage out of the Hallowed Chamber have finally lost the election. Oshiomhole was happy that the era of delaying passage of budgets and the President executive bills is over.
The revisits of the $29.96bn external borrowing request by the President in 2016 by the Lawan led National Assembly bear eloquent testimony to the APC Chieftains happiness that Saraki and his group could not make it to the Senate to avoid a repeat of what happened in Buhari first term in office where there many unfulfilled promises, particular, provision of basic infrastructural facilities to the people. The President may have heaved a sigh of relief when he was assured by the 9th National Assembly leadership that there was no cause for alarm over the passage of the Executive bill on external borrowing for the 2016-2018 period by the 9th National Assembly leadership. This is because the APC National Assembly leadership could easily hold closed door meeting with the President on any Executive Bill before it is introduced to both Chambers for discussion.
This may have informed why the APC Law makers could could use their majority in the National Assembly to pass Executive Bills without worrying about the opposition PDP. The recent passage of the 29.9 bn external borrowing Resolution speaks volume. The Opposition PDP had raised alarm over its implication to the country’s economy, describing it as an’’endless borrowing’’, but that was how far they could go.
As a prelude to the passage of the Executive Bill , Lawan, the 9th National Assembly Senate President was said to have read out a letter to his Colleagues that in pursuant to section 21 and 27 of the Debt Management Office, DMO Act, ‘’I hereby request for Resolutions of the Senate to approve the government’s 20-2018 external borrowing plan as well relevant projects to be executed under the plan.
Given an insider information why the Executive Bill on external borrowing was rejected by the 8th National Assembly, Lawan had blamed it on the inability of the Presidency and then Economic Management Team, led by Yemi Osbajo, a Professor and Vice President , to provide the relevant details on the plan for the Foreign. Loan.
The Presidency and the Presidential Avisory Council, PAC, may have gone back to the drawing the drawing the provide the details , which may have informed why Lawan , moblised his Colleagues to pass the Resolution for the government to go ahead and make use of the window provided by Creditor nations in 2016 2018, as a worthy creditor borrow. The country may have been given the opportunity to borrow by the Creditor nations as an oil producing country.
Shehu Sani, a member of the 8th National Assembly, who was the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local and External borrowing as at 2016, may have differed with Lawan, over the reason for rejection of the Executive bill.
Sani had said that the Committee had recommended to the Committee of the whole Senate to reject the Executive bill on the external borrowing of $29.9 bn request of Buhar to’’ save the country from sinking into the dark gully of a perpetual debt trap’’. An aggrieved Sani disclosed that the Committee did not want the country to be recognised by creditor Banks .
Going by DMO records , the country’s external debt as at 2015, when Buhari, assumed power, was a manageable $10.32 bn but the figure was said to have increased to about $22.0 bn in the second quarter of 2016. But with the Senate approval of $29.bn external borrowing for 2016-2018,there are fears in both official and unofficial circles that the external debt profile of the country mat hit $52bn bracket , which financial experts believe are not sustainable because of the country’s weak economy.
Many believe that Nigeria is heading towards becoming like the Latin American countries, particular, Venezuela, an oil producing country, which is caught in the web of external borrowing that had distablised its economy. The questions on the lips of most people is : Why are these creditor nations targeting the oil producing countries in Latin America and Africa?
