President Muhammadu Buhari has forwarded a letter to the House of Representatives with the intent of seeking review and approval of the 2016/2018 external borrowing plan, according to The Nation.
The Details: The letter was read by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, at a plenary session yesterday. The letter urged the National Assembly to quickly approve the borrowing plan to enable the government finance the listed projects contained therein. It should be noted that the plan was ignored by the 8th Assembly.
Making reference to the 8th Assembly, Buhari explained that only a part of the borrowing plan was approved. He singled out the North East development plan and the China Exim bank funded Lagos to Ibadan rail as the only project approved by 8th Assembly in the borrowing plan.
This act greatly limited the government in achieving its developmental plan in terms of power, education, agriculture, education among others, according to the President.
He added that the projects contained in the borrowing plan had already been approved by the Federal Executive Council in August 2016. To help the House swiftly approve the bill, the President promised to make sure the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed was available to provide any necessary clarifications, regarding the borrowing plan.
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What you should know: The President’s financial plan (2016-2018 external borrowing plan) was approved by the Federal Executive Council in August 2016 and sent to the 8th Assembly in September 2016.
The leadership of the federal parliament led by Senator Bukola Saraki and Yakubu Dogara invariably rejected the request in November 2016.
Other developments: Recently, President Muhammadu Buhari forwarded six aviation bills to the Senate for consideration and passage into law.
The six bills include Civil Aviation Bill 2019, Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria Bill 2019, Nigerian College of Air Space Management Agency Establishment Bill 2019.
Others are Nigerian College of Aviation Technology Establishment Bill 2019, Nigerian Meteorological Agency Establishment Bill 2019, and Nigerian Safety Investigation Bureau Establishment Bill 2019.
