The Nigerian House of Representatives has suspended all considerations for the $22.79bn external loan approved by the upper House for President Buhari.
There had been an uproar among Nigerians when the Senate President Ahmed Lawan approved the loan request without much debate from the floor members of the Senate.
Minority Leader, Senator Abaribe had lamented that the loan request was passed shoddily.
In response to the prevailing economic conditions due to the Coronavirus however, the lower house has suspended consideration of the external loan.
Shortly before the decision was taken, the House committee on Aids, Loans and Debt Management had listed it’s report on the Federal Government External Borrowing (Rolling) Plan as the last item of the day for consideration.
The Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila however asked that the consideration be postponed without giving a new proposed date.
“We will step that down for today,” Gbajabiamila said.
The Speaker further asked the Chairman, Rules and Business, Abubakar Fulata to move a motion for the standing down of the loan consideration.
A day earlier, the Speaker had announced that the loan would be considered on Wednesday after a member of the House, Henry Nwawuba presented a petition by a pressure group against the consideration.
However, during plenary on Wednesday, the House also raised alarm over the sharp drop in the price of crude oil on the global market and it’s immediate effect on the Nigerian economy, especially the 2020 Appropriation Act.
The House thereafter named several committees expected to have a meeting with the Federal Government and other stakeholders in the oil industry to address falling prices.
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