President Bola Tinubu requested a $500 million loan from the World Bank on Wednesday, and the Senate granted it, enabling the provision of power meters to the public.
The Committee on Local and Foreign Debts’ report was taken into consideration before the sum was authorized for the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
Senator Haruna Manu, the Vice Chairman of the Committee, delivered the report.
The $500 million loan was a portion of the $7.94 billion World Bank loan that President Bola Tinubu requested on November 1, 2023, be approved by the Senate.
It fell under the foreign borrowing plan for 2022–2024. At that time, the President also requested clearance for €100 million.
On December 30, however, the Senate approved borrowing $7.4 billion during a special plenary session after reviewing the Committee on Local and Foreign Debt’s findings.
Manu stated during the report’s presentation that the agency’s failure to appear before the committee to defend the plan prevented the $500 million for the BPE from being approved.
The terms and conditions under which the loan was obtained, he stated, will neither jeopardize Nigeria’s ability to sustain its economic growth nor undermine its integrity and independence as a sovereign state.
“The Committee recommends that the Senate approve the ongoing negotiations of the $500 million external borrowing for BPE and that the funding agency’s loan terms be forwarded to the National Assembly before execution,” he stated.
Recall that the BPE was unable to defend the N$500 million when it was supposed to appear before the Senate’s committees, therefore, the Senate had previously delayed approving the money.
Sen. Barau Jibrin, the deputy president of the Senate, oversaw the unanimous vote on Wednesday that approved the loan in response to the borrowing’s defense.
“This project’s program development goal is to enhance the technical and financial performance of electricity distribution companies,” the Senate report said.
Following review of the report, the meeting was presided over by Deputy President of the Senate Jibrin Barau, who cast a voice vote in favor of approving the loan request.
