LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Senate, through its Ad-hoc Committee investigating the N30 trillion Ways and Means facility acquired and utilized by the Muhammadu Buhari administration, has formally requested documents from the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) requesting specific documents related to the loans.
The Chairman of the Committee, Senator Isah Jibrin (APC Kogi-East), said the panel is awaiting these documents from the OAGF.
In a press statement, Jibrin refuted an online report suggesting that the investigation was “in limbo.”
He attached a copy of the committee’s letter to the OAGF, seeking vital documents for the investigation.
Senator Jibrin who doubles as Chairman, Senate Committee on Customs and Excise Duties, explained in the statement that although the committee was given six weeks for the investigation, the need for thoroughness has extended this timeframe.
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He said: “The essence of an investigation is to come up with factual findings and not just roll in the report within the specified time frame .
“Investigation on the N30tn Ways and Means is on course and not in any way, in limbo as insinuated by an online platform today. Some of the required findings have been made and are still being made as clearly shown by a letter of reminder recently written to the office of Accountant General of the Federation.”
Meanwhile, a copy of the letter written by the Senate panel to the OAGF, dated June 19, 2024, read in part, “You may recall our earlier letter on the above subject dated 27th May 2024, requesting for the following additional information on Ways and Means, which you are yet to respond to.
“The required information are details of disbursements under Ways and Means, names of the beneficiaries, amount/date of disbursements, purpose of the disbursements, terms of the disbursement ( where applicable ), repayment schedule ( where applicable ), and adherence to the repayment schedule.”
According to The PUNCH, during the Ninth Assembly, President Buhari, in a letter dated December 20, 2022, requested the restructuring of the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means loans, along with an additional N1 trillion to fund the N819.5 billion 2022 supplementary budget, bringing the total to N23.7 trillion.
In his request, Buhari explained, “The Ways and Means are advances from the Central Bank of Nigeria to the federal government for emergency funding due to delayed fiscal deficits. As of December 19, 2022, the balance of Ways and Means was N22.7tn. I have approved the securitisation of these balances under the following terms: Amount, N23.7tn; tenure, 40 years; moratorium on principal repayment, three years; Interest rate, 9%. Your concurrence and approval are sought to allow for the implementation of the same.”
Following the approval of the N23.7 trillion by the Ninth Senate under Ahmad Lawan’s leadership, the Tenth Senate, on December 30, 2023, also sanctioned the securitization of the remaining N7.3 trillion debt from the Ways and Means Advance in the Federal Government’s Consolidated Revenue Fund.