Amid Nigeria’s surging debt profile, the House of Representatives has approved the request by President Muhammadu Buhari to convert the N23.7 trillion “ways and means” loan to a long-term bond.
The total ways and means loan amounts to N23,719,703,774,306.90 while the duration of the bond is 40 years at the rate of nine per cent per annum. The bond has a moratorium of three years.
The lower chamber gave the approval on Thursday following the consideration of the report presented by the House Committees on Finance, Banking and Currency and Aids, Loans and Debt Management.
The Committee of Supply, chaired by Deputy Speaker Idris Wase, considered the recommendation in the report and approved it.
Mr Buhari, who is due to leave office on 29 May, had in a letter in 2022 requested that the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means loan should be converted to a 40-year bond with a moratorium of three years.
He also requested the approval to borrow an additional N1 trillion to fund the N819.5 billion 2022 supplementary budget which the lawmakers approved last December.
PulseNets reported how the Senate was thrown into a chaotic session for minutes during the consideration of the report which was presented by the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Adeola Olamilekan.
Many lawmakers who opposed the president’s request either said it was against the laws or wondered why the National Assembly was not notified when the amount was taken from the Central Bank.
In December, there was a mild drama in the Senate over the consideration of the report, prompting the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to step down the report.
PulseNets reported that the Director-General of the Debt Management Office, Patience Oniha, said the next administration will inherit a public debt of N77 trillion if the N23 trillion ways and means loan is securitised.
