The Nigerian Senate has approved the request by the Executive for the payment of $1.2 billion local debts owed by the Federal Government through a promissory note programme and bond issuance.
The figure consists of refund for federal projects executed by Delta and Taraba states; debts owed to five contractors, and outstanding Export Expansion Grant (EEG) claims by 269 companies.
The Senate’s approval followed the submission and presentation of the report of its adhoc committee chaired by Senator Francis Alimikhena, which worked on the executive request.
Presenting the report, Alimikhena said the committee was furnished by justifiable details of all claims submitted by the representatives of Delta and Taraba states, beneficiaries of the EEG scheme and the contractors.
The details, according to him, include the Federal Government’s approval through its Ministry of Works for the highway projects executed by the two states.
Others are contract agreements between the state governments and the contractors that handled the projects, and evidence of payments to the contractors.
Alimikhena added that certificates of project completion and evidence of part payments made by various MDAs to the five contractors, among others, were received.
The committee, therefore, recommended that the president’s request be granted for the settlement of the debts.
Some senators, including Ibrahim Gobir, Emmanuel Bwacha and Barnabas Gemade, supported the motion for approval of the recommendations.
However, Gemade urged the committee to request for evidence of the income earned by the country from the exports claimed to have been promoted by the benefiting companies.
– APA