Senate Insists N30bn Ways and Means Must Be Recovered In Full, Demands Explanation From CBN

 

The Senate ad hoc Committee probing the N30 trillion Ways and Means loans advances to the federal government and the Anchor Borrowers’ Programme (ABP) has insisted that the loans must be recovered in full.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Isah Jibrin (Kogi East), stated this after a meeting of the Committee with officials of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) at the National Assembly complex on Tuesday.

The CBN team, led by Bala Bello, Deputy Governor, Corporate Services made their presentations on Ways and Means and Anchor Borrowers.

Jibrin, told journalists that the committee was able to extract useful information from them, which would guide their next level of discussion.

He said the committee had issues with approvals in areas where it was discovered that the CBN governor, “unilaterally gave approvals,” which he said was abnormal to the committee.

The committee could not get an immediate explanation for that and therefore gave the CBN 24 hours to provide the necessary explanation.

He said, “We believe that every approval must be given by the Committee of Governors (COG), the governor and his deputies. That is the standard rule.

“Where the governor alone unilaterally gives approval that calls for questioning. I think they will provide answers for us very soon.

“However, the Anchor Borrowers’ amounting to N1.1 trillion has an impressive repayment rate of up to 70 percent performance and the rest 30 percent of N358 billion are loans given low income farmers with very high risk.”

Jibrin said the risk there was that those low income farmers don’t have what it takes to perform to expectations in terms of, “equipment and technical know-how to manage those farms effectively.

He said, “That is where we are going to have possible problems of loan default of about N358 billion.”

The committee advised that, to the extent that the loans were processed through the commercial banks, the credit risks lie with the commercial banks.

He added that the commercial banks should in turn go after the borrowers to recover their monies.

Jibrin said, “We have advised them that they should try into round table discussion with those commercial banks that purportedly guaranteed those loans.

“To the extent that those loans have been guaranteed and those commercial banks are still in existence, the credit risks lie with the commercial banks and they know what to do.”

The Senate also on Tuesday, confirmed the nomination of Gbenga Alade for appointment as the managing director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

The Senate also confirmed the nomination of Adeshola Lamidi, Lucky Adaghe and Dr. Aminu Murktar Dan’amu for appointment as executive directors in AMCON.

The resolution of the Red Chamber followed its adoption of the recommendations of the Senate Committee on Banking, Insurance and other financial institutions that screened the nominees.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Adetokunbo Abiru, presented the report.

President Bola Tinubu had earlier forwarded the nominees to the Senate and urged them to consider and confirm them for appointment.

The Senate also on Tuesday, passed the sum of N1.282 trillion FCT 2024 budget. The passage of the budget followed the adoption and approval of the recommendations in the harmonised report of the Senate and House of Representatives Committees on FCT on the 2024 FCT statutory Appropriation Bill at plenary.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on FCT, Senator Ibrahim Bomoi, presented the report.

Of the amount, the sum of N140,915,003,856.00 was for personnel cost while N373,027,373,668.00 was for overhead cost.

The balance sum of N768,328,232,759.00 was for capital projects for the FCT financial year commencing from 1st of January to December 31.

Also on Tuesday, the Senate approved the extension of the implementation of the 2023 Supplementary Appropriation Act from 31st March 2024 to June 30th.

The amendment followed a bill by the Senate Leader, Opeyemi Bamidele.

Additionally, the Senate on Tuesday, passed for second reading, the amendment to the Extradition Act, 2004.

In the proposed law, Section 2 (1) and Section 7(4) of the Act are to be amended, according to Opeyemi, in his lead debate on the floor of the legislature in Abuja.

He explained that in Section 2, the, “Act is amended to allow Nigeria to accede to extradition requests from countries with which Nigeria has signed an extradition treaty – as opposed to only Commonwealth countries, as is the case today.

“The present position of the Act applies only to countries within the Commonwealth and any other country with whom Nigeria establishes an extradition treaty or arrangement.”

The proposed amendment in Section 7 of the Act is “to properly set out the procedure for issuance of warrants of arrest for effective execution of extradition requests.”

Speaking further Opeyemi said, “the legislation that governs the process by which Nigeria can request and obtain the surrender of a person from another jurisdiction, who is accused or convicted of a criminal offence outside the requesting jurisdiction’s territory.”

He added, “The Act is today set for amendment in order to ensure compliance with Nigeria’s obligation to the international bodies in the fight against Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing and also to ensure the delisting of Nigeria by the International Country Risk Guide (ICRG) from the grey list through compliance.”

The Deputy President of the Senate, Sen. Barau Jibrin, presided over proceedings.

The bill secured a majority voice vote and was referred to the Committee on Judiciary and Human Rights.

Both the Senate and the House of Representatives are working on the bill at the same time.

Similarly, on Tuesday, the Senate observed a minute silence in honour of the late Olubadan of Ibadan, Senator Lekan Balogun.

The resolution of the Senate followed its consideration of a point of order moved by Senator Abiodun Sharafadeen Ali (APC – Oyo South).

Ali in his lead debate, paid glowing tributes to the late monarch.

Senators approved that the Senate should observe a minute of silence in honour of late Olubadan Balogun when the prayer was put to voice vote by Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

However, Ali’s prayer which called on the Senate to immortalise the late Olubadan who was a former Senator by naming one of the committee rooms of the Senate after him did not gain the approval of his colleagues.

Sunday Aborisade