President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday sought the Senate’s approval to secure a fresh loan of N850 billion to fund some projects in the 2020 budget.
The President’s request was made known in a letter read by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, on the floor of the upper chamber of the National Assembly in Abuja.
According to the letter, President Buhari seeks to raise the loan from the domestic capital market to ensure adequate funds to finance projects in the budget.
It was reported that the lawmakers gave accelerated approval to the President’s request to raise the loan after the letter was read.
They also asked the Senate Committees on Finance and Appropriation to liaise with the Minister of Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, to get more details on the loan request.
The President’s request was granted following the senators’ resumption from a recess which lasted about five weeks, Channels tv reports.
Meanwhile, the Senate Leader, Senator Abdullahi Yahaya, has moved a motion to suspend Order 11 to enable senators to speak from seats not belonging to them.
He explained that this was to enable the lawmaker to comply with social distancing, which was part of the measures to check the spread of COVID-19.