A showdown looms in the House of Representatives this week between lawmakers elected on the platform of the ruling party and their opposition counterparts over the $2.2m (N1.77tn) loan request by President Bola Tinubu. This is as the Deputy Spokesperson of the House, Mr Philip Agbese has declared that the Green Chamber will have no trouble approving external borrowing request from President Bola Tinubu, Deputy Spokesman of the Green Chamber, Congressman Philip Agbese has said. President Tinubu’s loan request was contained in a letter transmitted to the parliament and read by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas, during Tuesday’s plenary. If approved, the President said the loan would fund the N9.7tn 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 exclusively with The PUNCH on Sunday, the Benue lawmaker who doubles as the Deputy Chairman, the Committee on Media and Publicity, advanced reasons the House will not hesitate to follow the footsteps of the Senate in granting the request of the President to borrow externally to fund the budget deficit. According to him, 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. “The Tinubu-led government has been prudent with our resources. We will approve the loan request without hesitation,” he said, adding that the request will be treated in conformity with standing procedures. “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,” he said. Debt burden Although Nigeria’s total public debt currently stands at N136tn, 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.” On what has changed since the inauguration of the incumbent All Progressives Congress-led administration, Agbese who represents Ado/Ogbadibo/Okpokwu Federal Constituency of Benue State, noted that “the executive is enhancing our budget system in terms of priorities.” While declaring that “it may not be far from the truth that past administrations took foreign loans to spend on disposables,” he insisted that “the 10th parliament is carrying out its oversight functions to see that every penny counts in the overall interest of our people.” ‘Govs change stand’ Reacting to an exclusive report by The PUNCH quoting some lawmakers saying that some state governors appeared to have changed their rigid stand on Tinubu’s tax reform bill, now before the parliament for consideration, the lawmaker added that the resilience of legislators may have informed the development. “Many (governors) are doing so because they have seen the resilience of the parliament to do what is right for Nigerians. This is what you get where there’s patriotism above personal and selfish interest of just a few entities. “The House of Representatives under the leadership of Rt Hon Tajudeen Abass has done something novel and Nigerians are equally commending his leadership. There’s no doubt that our approach to inviting the key drivers of the tax reforms in Nigeria and doing so at the same time with our in-house experts, has changed the narrative completely in Nigeria,” he added. In a veiled jibe at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who in July described the National Assembly as an enabler of executive recklessness, Agbese said Nigerians “don’t take him seriously, so, the parliament won’t be bothered about his opinion which was probably expressed from abroad or somewhere in Dubai. “The only time that politician won an election was when another candidate from the south carried him on his back as a running mate. The only thing he sees about Nigeria is when an election will take place.” The lawmaker assured Nigerians that when granted, the loan would be used for the intended purpose, saying, “The House of Representatives will ensure that such monies if approved are not diverted. What we understand the President is doing is repositioning critical institutions for optimum performance as well as delivering on infrastructure that will stand the test of time. “It’s possible to extend the lifespan of the 2024 budget to ensure that ongoing critical projects receive the desired attention and are completed.” Also speaking, an APC lawmaker from Imo State, Chike Okafor, said the loan request by the President was in order. He said, “Our country in the past years suffered from under-investment in the very critical sectors that stimulate the economy. How much of our resources go to funding/financing infrastructure in such critical things like roads, health, education, and agriculture? Any economy that fails to sustain good investment in the above critical sections of the economy is creating short and long-term deficits in those areas. “What do you do if/when your current revenue and receipts are inadequate to fund the necessary and required investments necessary to sustain the stimulation of your commerce and economy? You resort to borrowing, especially if/when you reserve the capacity to do so.” He added, “What I do not support is borrowing to fund ordinary appetite. By this, I mean borrowing just to fund recurrent expenditures. Once a borrowing is geared towards the funding of critical capital items, then we’re moving in the right direction.” Minority caucus warns Meanwhile, the minority caucus of the House of Representatives has warned that the provision for deficit financing in the 2024 budget is not automatic, … Read more
