Headlines
Why We Suspended Buhari’s $22.7bn Loan Approval – Gbajabiamila
The Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the protest by National Assembly members from the South-East geopolitical zone led to the suspension of work on the $22.79bn external borrowing request by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.).
Gbajabiamila said the House of Representatives was already in talks with the Federal Government on how the zone would be accommodated in the execution of projects with the loan.
The Speaker said this in Abuja, on Wednesday, when he hosted Leaders of the South-South and South-East Faith Forum.
The House had, on March 11, suspended consideration of the $22.79bn loan request indefinitely.
It had scheduled consideration of the report by the Committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management, on the 2016-2018 Federal Government External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan, but Gbajabiamila asked that the consideration be stood down without giving a new date.
On March 13, members of the South-East caucus in the National Assembly, led by the Senate Minority Leader, Enyinnaya Abaribe, met separately with President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan; and the Speaker behind closed doors.
Responding to the call by the Leaders of Faith Forum that the Federal Government should jettison the idea of taking the loan at this critical time, the Speaker said the issue was debatable, adding that government should be given the benefit of the doubt.
Gbajabiamila disclosed that the confirmation process was discontinued due to protests that the South-East would not benefit from the loan.
The Speaker said he spoke with Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; and the Director General of the Budget Office of the Federation, Ben Akabueze, to find a solution to the impasse.
He said, “There has been a lot of agitation about South-East not benefiting from the loan. It is one of the reasons we haven’t considered the loan in the House. I’ve discussed with the finance minister and the DG Budget. It is a matter that we are looking into seriously.
“I’m hoping that there will be some kind of amicable resolution, so that everybody will be carried along. Equity suggests that all zones must be carried along.
“With the quality of members that you have and the generality of the House, we’ll work towards a fair resolution of the issue so that it leads to something that will bring us together and unite us as a country.”
Gbajabiamila also said the House was already addressing the issues of open grazing and insecurity, among others, as raised by the clerics, challenging them to come up with alternatives and possible solutions to any issue that they were uncomfortable with.
The Speaker also urged religious leaders to always pray for Nigerian leaders because they need prayers all the time in order to succeed.
He appealed to the clerics to avail Nigerian leaders with their wisdom and knowledge, especially in the areas of politics and governance.
Earlier, leader of the delegation, Bishop Sunday Onuoha, said the visit was to discuss issues of concerns with the Speaker, saying, while they applauded the Federal Government’s food security agenda, farmlands across the country were still unsafe.
The leaders urged the government to urgently address the situation and avert impending hunger in most communities that depend on staple food like cassava and rice.
The religious leaders said the issue of open grazing must stop, adding that it generated insecurity and people were no longer safe in their farmlands.
The Punch
The Senate has granted approval to the ₦1.77 trillion ($2.2b) loan request of President Bola Tinubu after a voice vote in favor of the request.
The Senate presided by Deputy Senate President, Barau Jibrin, approved the loan after the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts chaired by Senator Wammako Magatarkada (APC, Sokoto North) presented the report of the committee.
The request which was submitted by the President on Tuesday is part of a fresh external borrowing plan to partially finance the N9.7 trillion budget deficit for the 2024 fiscal year.
Tinubu had on Tuesday written to the National Assembly, seeking approval of a fresh N1.767 trillion, the equivalent of $2.209 billion as a new external borrowing plan in the 2024 Appropriation Act.
The fresh loan is expected to stretch the amount spent on debt servicing by the Federal Government. The Central Bank of Nigeria recently said that it cost the Federal Government $3.58 billion to service foreign debt in the first nine months of 2024.
The CBN report on international payment statistics showed that the amount represents a 39.77 per cent increase from the $2.56bn spent during the same period in 2023.
According to the report, while the highest monthly debt servicing payment in 2024 occurred in May, amounting to $854.37m, the highest monthly expenditure in 2023 was $641.70m, recorded in July.
The trend in foreign debt servicing by the CBN highlights the rising cost of debt obligations by Nigeria.
Further breakdown of international debt figures showed that in January 2024, debt servicing costs surged by 398.89 per cent, rising to $560.52m from $112.35m in January 2023. February, however, saw a slight decline of 1.84 per cent, with payments reducing from $288.54m in 2023 to $283.22m in 2024.
March recorded a 31.04 per cent drop in payments, falling to $276.17m from $400.47m in the same period last year. April saw a significant rise of 131.77 per cent, with $215.20m paid in 2024 compared to $92.85m in 2023.
The highest debt servicing payment occurred in May 2024, when $854.37m was spent, reflecting a 286.52 per cent increase compared to $221.05m in May 2023. June, on the other hand, saw a 6.51 per cent decline, with $50.82m paid in 2024, down from $54.36m in 2023.
July 2024 recorded a 15.48 per cent reduction, with payments dropping to $542.50m from $641.70m in July 2023. In August, there was another decline of 9.69 per cent, as $279.95m was paid compared to $309.96m in 2023. However, September 2024 saw a 17.49 per cent increase, with payments rising to $515.81m from $439.06m in the same month last year.
Given rising exchange rates, the data raises concerns about the growing pressure of Nigeria’s foreign debt obligations.
Channels TV
Self acclaimed leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Simon Ekpa, has been arrested by law enforcement in Finland.
The BBC reports that Ekpa was subsequently sent to prison by the district court of Päijät-Häme for “spreading terrorist propaganda on social media”.
Ekpa was said to have committed the crime in 2021 in Lahti municipality.
The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) also arrested four other men over alleged terrorist offences.
A citizen of Finland and Nigeria, Ekpa has described himself as leader of the separatist IPOB group since Nnamdi Kanu’s incarceration.
Finnish police say Ekpa’s activities and social media rhetoric may have fanned the flames of violence in the south-east of Nigeria.
“He carries out these activities from his social media channels, for example,” said Otto Hiltunen, detective chief inspector of the NBI.
In February 2023, Ekpa was arrested by police at his residence in Lahti but was released after hours of questioning.
Using his social media channels, Ekpa had directed Igbos not to participate in Nigeria’s 2023 general election.
In September 2021, the Biafra agitator and secessionist denounced Nigeria and vowed to return the medal he won for the country at the 2003 African Junior Athletics Championships.
The Court of Appeal has sacked Musiliu Akinsanya aka MC Oluomo as the National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW).
In a ruling that upheld the earlier judgment of the National Industrial Court, the appellate court sacked MC Oluomo and reaffirmed Tajudeen Baruwa as the legitimate leader of the union.
Baruwa had assumed office after a properly conducted election held at the union’s headquarters in Abuja.
The three-member panel of the Appeal Court dismissed the appeal filed by MC Oluomo’s faction, declaring it devoid of merit.
In addition, the court imposed a fine of N100,000 on the appellants, further solidifying Baruwa’s leadership position.
Reports quoting court documents said to have been released on Friday detailed the ruling, which effectively countered any attempts to displace Baruwa from his role as the NURTW president.
The judgment read: “This is an appeal against the judgment/decision of the National Industrial Court Sitting in Abuja, in Suit No. NICN/ABJ/263/2023, delivered on the 11th March, 2024, by Justice O. O. Oyewumi.
“Upon reading the Record of Appeal compiled and transmitted before this court, together with the respective briefs of argument, and after hearing the counsels for the appellants and respondents, it is hereby ordered that:
“This Appeal is devoid of merit, and the same is hereby dismissed.”
The ruling reinforces the legitimacy of Baruwa’s presidency, concluding the legal dispute over the union’s leadership.
Meanwhile, MC Oluomo’s son Idowu Akinsanya (King West) had bragged about his feat of emerging the NURTW president, saying: “We are now in charge of Nigeria, not only Lagos,” a comment that attracted public opprobrium.
MC Oluomo, a diehard supporter of President Bola Tinubu and a prominent figure in Lagos politics, was the sole candidate in the election, which took place at the union’s zonal secretariat in Osogbo. His perceived victory was deemed to carry significant implications for the future of the NURTW and the political landscape of Nigeria.
