Posted by The Senate decided to review the N30 trillion Ways and Means it had approved for the federal government under previous president Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday, causing a small commotion because, according to the Senate, the contents of the plan were never made public.
Some in the Red Chamber have blamed the careless expenditure of the overdraft funds received by the CBN, which is headed by Godwin Emefiele, for the current food and security crisis in Nigeria.
Since the National Assembly was purposefully denied access to specifics of the spending of N30 trillion by the immediate previous administration, it resolved to establish an ad hoc committee to investigate the money extensively.
The N10 trillion spent on the Anchor Borrowers Scheme, the $2.4 billion FX transaction out of the $7 billion obligation made for that reason, and other intervention programs will be investigated by the ad hoc committee that is set to be formed on Wednesday.
Following discussions with the federal government's economic management team, the Senate passed its resolutions after reviewing the findings of its joint committees on banking, insurance, and other financial institutions; finance; national planning; agriculture; and appropriations.
During Tuesday's report consideration in plenary, senators traded allegations and counter-accusations over the passage of the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means in May 2023 and an extra N7.2 trillion on December 30, 2023, by the 9th and 10th Senates, respectively.
In his reply, Senate Whip Ali Ndume (APC, Borno South) accused the Senate of approving the request without receiving specifics from then-President Muhammadu Buhari.
The 9th Senate proceeded to approve the N22.7 trillion Ways and Means request despite his demands that they be given information of expenditures made with the money, he stated.
But Senator Jibrin Barau, the Senate's Deputy President, shot him down, saying the decision had been reached collectively with the stipulation that the executive branch would supply details later—details that were never forthcoming.
The 9th Senate approved a Ways and Means bill worth N22.7 trillion in May 2023; this amount later increased to N30 trillion after the passage of the N7.2 trillion accrued interest bill in December 2023. In his remarks, Senate President Godswill Akpabio reiterated the committee's and the majority's calls for a comprehensive investigation into the bill.
There is a direct correlation between the distribution, collection, and expenditure of these resources and the current food and security challenges that the country is experiencing.
Now that Nigerians demand food on the table, you must supply it to them, therefore you must disclose details of such spending for the necessary examination and possible remedies.
The committee has also recommended looking into other intervention programs with budgets in the billions, like as the N10 trillion Anchor Borrowers Programme.
“However, in accordance with the joint committee's just recommendation, security agencies should immediately begin combating all forms of insecurity nationwide. This will allow farmers to access their farms and produce the much-needed food for the country,” Akpabio stated.