HoR jerk up FG’s loan from CBN to 15% as Katsina lawmaker kicks

By Tom Okpe

Chairman, House Committee on Water Resources, Sada Soli, (APC, Kano) has kicked against the House of Representatives’ upward review of loan accessible to the Federal Government from the apex bank, Central Bank of Nigeria, (CBN) was moved from five to 15%.

The House made the increase following passage of a bill for an Act to Amend the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007 at an emergency plenary sitting on Sunday at the National Assembly in Abuja.

The Senate also, had a similar emergency sitting at its emergency plenary on Saturday, passing the CBN amendment bill raising the loan access.

With the passage by both chambers of the National Assembly, the amendment may be transmitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent before inauguration of the new administration on Monday, 29th May, 2023.

Under the CBN Act, the Ways and Means provision allows the government to borrow from the apex bank if it needs short-term or emergency finance to fund delayed government, expected cash receipt of fiscal deficit.

According to the principal CBN Act, the Ways and Means must not exceed five per cent of the previous year’s revenue.

The CBN Act Section 38(2) & (3) states, “that Ways and Means shall not exceed 5% of the previous year’s revenue of the Federal Government.”

During the consideration of report on the CBN Act, 2007 amendment bill, standing in the name of Chairman, House Committee on Banking and Finance, Victor Nwokolo, which Soli raised objection.

He said, “Mr. Chairman does it mean with this amendment, the CBN somehow advances to Government at 10 percent or is it a wake up call at the twilight of this government we are changing this from five percent to 15 percent?

“Can the Chairman, Banking and Currency kindly explain this not only to the National Assembly but to Nigerians.

“Does it mean the CBN granted this advances at 15 percent or what is going on? This is what we don’t know Chairman.

“I’m a member of the Committee on Banking and Currency. I didn’t know when this discussion took place.

“I can stand on privilege Order 6 to call for an explanation as a member of this Committee, how we reached this amendment.”

But responding to the Katsina lawmaker, the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Wase who presided over the Committee of the Whole said the right thing was to pass the bill.

Wase said: “Hon. Sada, the only explanation I may attempt to give if I listened to you very carefully is that, the Chairman has the right to commit after second reading any bill to the Committee of the Whole.

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“It is there contained in our Standing Order. It depends on the importance and the exigency of the moment. In light of this, I want to beg our colleagues to please consider this amendment and we pass it so that we have the right thing done.”

Similarly, the House passed a bill seeking to extend the implementation of the Capital Aspect 2022 Supplementary Appropriation Act from June 30 to December 31, 2023.

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