Deputy Spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Philip Agbese has said that the Green Chamber will have no trouble approving external borrowing request from President Bola Tinubu.
Naija News reports that Tinubu, in a letter transmitted to the parliament and read by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, had made a loan request of $2.2bn.
If approved, the loan would fund the ₦9.7tn deficit in the 2024 budget.
The Senate has already approved the loan request, with the House expected to debate same ahead of its approval later in the week.
Speaking to Punch, Agbese said the House would follow the footstep of the Senate.
According to the Benue lawmaker, the House will approve the loan request as long as it is meant for the execution of capital projects across the country as stipulated in the letter transmitted to the National Assembly by the President.
He said, “The Tinubu-led government has been prudent with our resources. We will approve the loan request without hesitation.
“I can tell you that the relevant Standing Committees have commenced scrutiny of the loan request ahead of the consideration by the House. But I assure Nigerians that as their representatives, we will abide by strict standard procedures in doing our job as far as this request is concerned.”
Although Nigeria’s total public debt currently stands at ₦136tn, Agbese justified the President’s quest to borrow more, saying, “The kind of critical infrastructure we have seen the current government investing their scarce resources on are encouraging. From the Honourable Minister of Finance to the Accountant General’s Office, we have seen fiscal policies that aim to safeguard taxpayers’ resources.”
He added that just as past approvals by the parliament were done in line with due consultation with other relevant stakeholders and experts, “The situation would not be different this time.”
