By Ignatius Okorocha
Senate on Monday raised the alarm over a reoccurring sum of N16billion multilateral loan discovered in the budget of Ministry of Environment meant for servicing the new map loan.
Making this revelation at the presentation of the budget report of the committee on Environment to the Appropriations committee,its chairman and former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu said the external loan which was initially N6billion in the 2021 budget, has risen to N16billion unaccounted for in this year’s budget.
” Last year as I said there was N6 billion in the environment budget for the servicing of a multilateral loan regarding to erosion control.
“Regrettably, about N1.5 billion of it was released to environment and later the ministry of finance wrote, saying it was a mistake that was supposed to be from the service wide vote from where we service most of the loans.
“So,we took it in good faith but surprisingly we now got another N16 billion for the same reason from the ministry of environment and because there was a directive from the leadership of the National Assembly that we should not tamper with monies provided for multilateral loan.
“But we decided to find out what it is all about, eventually we invited the ministry who now said that by the time they got their envelope, the money they sent to Ministries to distribute to agencies. There was no such amount, so by the time the money came to national assembly, there was this N16 billion for the servicing of the new map loan,” he disclosed.
He wondered how a loan that has 10 year monetarium up to 2023 before the commencement of its servicing would be featuring in the 2022 federal budget.
According to Ekweremadu,”We asked when this money is due for servicing, they said it has a 10 year monetarium. We can’t be providing for it until 2023.
“We also found out that about 21 states are benefiting from it and it is these states that will pay the loan and not the federal government. So It is either we wait until 2023 before making provisions for it or we ask the states to start making provisions for it if they have to pay now.
“Even if the federal government has to pay it has to go through the service wide votes not the respective budgets of the MDAs, it’s wrong.
“The anomaly is untidy.”
On the issue of the Great Green wall that carters for 11 states of the north battling with desertification, the chairman said the federal government is also supporting it and that there is also monies from multilateral agencies.
“That is our major concern. But there is also the forest institutes that is also helping to plant trees, to also help in dealing with the issue of climate change, we still have gully erosion especially in the south. The forest institute also help in dealing with that.
“The bulk of the fight against desertification is coming from the great Green wall an agency of the federal ministry of environment. So they have enough money. But this money is completely outside the budgetary provisions. Some of it comes from the federal government directly,” he said.
