[Senator Bukola Saraki]
Despite protest from Edo state Senator, Senate on Thursday approved $75 million-loan request of President Muhammadu Buhari for the Edo state government.
Senator Mathew Uroghide who is from Edo state in his argument when he started debate on the loan said the people of Edo state are not in support of the loan requested by the governor of the State, Adam Oshiomole.
He said some people from Edo states sent him text messages to him this morning kicking against the loan.
President Buhari had last week submitted letter to Senate for World Bank loan of $75 million for Edo state.
In the letter read on the floor of the upper chamber, Buhari explained that the World Bank approved a loan of $225 million to the state in 2012 and that it was agreed that the loan would be implemented in three tranches of $75 million per annum.
It could be recalled that on Tuesday, senate president, Senator Bukola Saraki set up an ad-hoc committee on local and foreign debts to look into the loan request.
The committee chaired by Kabiru Gaya (Kano south), submitted their report for consideration on Wednesday and recommended that request be granted.
In his contribution at the plenary session on the loan, Senator Kabiru Haliru implored the senate to give its approval, arguing that the Edo state government had used a previous loan from the World Bank judiciously.
After exhaustive deliberation on the report, the Senate President put the request to a voice vote to which the “nays” and “ayes” collided, but he allowed the loan sail through.
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