Chidi Samuel| The Senate on Wednesday approved the payment of a N10 billion loan to Kogi State.
The approval is coming two days to the governorship election in the state.
Chairman of the Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts, Clifford Ordia, while presenting his report on the floor of the House, said the Kogi State government carried out repairs on seven Federal Government roads in the state.
According to him, necessary findings conducted by the committee, showed that due process was followed by the Kogi State government in executing the Federal Government projects.
Ordia said, “The approved sum is in Capital Expenditure which has to do with refund to the State Government for monies spent in the execution of Federal Government Projects in the state.”
The approval did not, however, go down well with opposition Senators from the PDP who questioned the timing of the approval of the loan.
Senator Enyinaya Abaribe, the Senate minority leader asked for delay of the approval until next week noting that the approval appears hasty.
He said, “This is not the right time to approve such loan refund. Exigency of the time suggest that we should delay for one week so that the money would not be used for something else.”
Disagreeing with Abaribe, Senate President Ahmed Lawan noted that the loan request came in the eight assembly and has been delayed enough.
According to him, the approval of the refund only coincides with election.
Lawan said, “Kogi State applied for this in the last Senate, all the other states were paid. Kogi was not approved at that time, we as a Senate has seen it as a necessity and it is a coincidence,” he said
The matter was subsequently subjected to a voice vote and Lawan ruled in favour of those who supported the approval amidst protests from PDP lawmakers.
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