*Gives 2 weeks ultimatum to defend request
By Ignatius Okorocha
The Senate on Tuesday announced that some ministries and Agencies of government were responsible for the delay in the approval of their loan request.
This was as President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan has given the affected Ministries and Agencies of government two weeks ultimatum to appear before Senator Clifford Ordia led committee on foreign and local debt and submit their loan request unfailingly.
Coming under Order 43 of the Senate Rule, Senator Senator Clifford Ordia(Edo Central) had alerted the upper chamber of the failure of some Ministries and Agencies of government to honour the invitation of his committee to brief it on the state of their loan request.
Consequently having made his submission, the Senate President. Asked him to furnish the Senate of names of the MDAs that failed to appear before the committee on Tuesday to present their loan request.
Ordia who chairs the committee on foreign and local Debt immediately rolled out the lists of the defaulting MDAs that comprise Ministries of Power, Niger Delta, Humanitarian and Disaster management, Water, Resources, Health, Communication and Agriculture.
Responding, the President of the Senate said let me advice because you have come under ( Order 43) personal explanations which is not open to debate but let me advise that this senate is open to debate critical issues of national importance to ensure that such important issues like the foreign loan request to with the Executive needs to be treated with seriousness by both sides.
“The Senate is making every possible efforts to understand why the loan request. Therefore we need details, we need information so that we take the appropriate decisions as quickly as possible.
“So I would ask those ministries that have not appeared before is committee to do so between now and Monday next week.
” So, I believe that this is an advise that should be taken very serious by the Agencies that failed to appear before the committee to submit their loan request,” he directed.
Chairman of the Local and Foreign Debts Committee, Senator Ordia, however pleaded for an extension of the window period to two weeks.
Lawan thereafter gave the committee a minimum of two weeks to submit their report to the upper chamber for consideration.
