Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar is requesting that the National Assembly reject the approval of any new loan request meant for projects that are not viable.
In a letter to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, Atiku called on the National Assembly not to approve loans that are not income-generating or production-based.
The letter reads in part, “On May 29, 2015, Nigeria’s total national debt stood approximately at N12 trillion. As of August 2020, our national debt has tripled to N28.63 trillion. Even more alarming is the fact that the foreign debt portion of our national debt has risen from less than $10 billion on May 29, 2015, to almost $30 billion in August 2020.
A further cause for concern is the fact that not all of these debts are necessary. A study of the use to which these monies have been put to will show that much of it has gone towards items or project that are non-productive or viable.
“As such, in view of your role as a check on the excesses of other arms of government, may I suggest that going forward, the National Assembly should refuse to approve any new loan requests, where such loans are to be spent on projects or items that are not income-generating or production-based, or indeed viable.
Lawan disclosed in June that the National Assembly approved about $28 billion loan requests of President Muhammadu Buhari in the last one year.
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