Reps’ C’ttee Opposes Upward Review Of FG Ways, Means Loan

The chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Water Resources, Sada Soli has kicked against the House of Representatives’ upward review of the Ways and Means loan accessible to the federal government from five to 15 per cent.

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

This came barely 24 hours after the Senate also at an emergency plenary sitting on Saturday, passed the CBN amendment bill raising the loan access by 15 percent.

With the passage by both chambers of the National Assembly, the amendment may be transmitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent before the end of his tenure on Monday.

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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 percent 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  the Chairman of the House Committee on Banking and Finance, Victor Nwokolo, Soli raised objection to it.

“Mr. Chairman does it mean with this amendment that 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 these 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 at this amendment, please?” he said.

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.

“Hon. Sada the only explanation I may attempt to give if I listened to you very carefully is this, the Chair has the right to commit after second reading any bill to the Committee of the Whole. “It is there contained in our Standing Order. It depends on the importance and the exigency of the moment. And 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.

The bill which seeks to approve the sum of N819 billion for capital expenditure and for related matters was considered at the Committee of Supply, thereby raising the budget deficit for 2022 to N8.17 trillion and deficit GDP ratio to 4.43 percent.

Buhari had in a letter to the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila late December last year, sought approval for supplementary 2022 Appropriation of N819 billion.

The letter read in parts: “I have therefore approved the supplementary 2022 Appropriation of N819,000,536,937, all of which are capital expenditure.

“The supplementary would be financed through additional domestic borrowings and this would raise the budget deficit for 2022 to 8.17 trillion and deficit GDP ratio to 4.43 percent.”