Uproar in Senate over CBN ‘ways and means’ N23.7trn loans to FG

The Senate was on Wednesday thrown into uproar over President Muhammadu Buhari’s letter to restructure the N23.7 trillion loans advanced to the Federal Government by the Central Bank of Nigeria through Ways and Means.

Debates on the loans by the CBN in the past 10 years led to huge disagreement between the Senators.

To avoid the disagreement degenerating into fisticuffs, the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan hurriedly forced the Senators to go into a closed door session.

Trouble started when the Chairman, Senate Committee on Finance, Senator Olamilekan Adeola, APC, came up with a report on Ways and Means 2022 as requested by President Buhari last week.

The loans were declared unconstitutional by Senator Adeola, Senator Apiafi, PDP, Rivers West, after he raised a point of order.

He argued that President Buhari’s request was unconstitutional and what the Senate is about to do by considering the request is unknown in Nigerian law.

The Senate became tensed up when the President of the Senate ruled her out of order on the grounds that the report should be presented and read by the committee chairman thereafter lawmakers can contribute to the debate.

Lawan’s ruling annoyed Senator Apiafi and some Senators, thereby leading to a tense atmosphere at the hallowed Chamber.

At this point, Senator George Sekibo, PDP, Rivers East raised a point of order calling on the President of the Senate to step down the consideration of the report until lawmakers have more details on what the funds were used for.

The Senate thereafter went into a closed door session .

President Buhari had last week written to the Senate , requesting the approval of restructuring of N23.7 trillion Ways and Means advances given to the Federal Government by the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The President in a letter read by Senate President Ahmad Lawan during Plenary session last Wednesday, explained that Ways and Means are advances from the Central Bank of Nigeria to the federal government for emergency funding of delayed receipt of fiscal deficit .