ABUJA, Nigeria — Tensions simmered in the Nigerian Senate on Tuesday, May 16, 2023, as Senator Mohammed Ndume of Borno South, the current chairman of the Senate Committee on Army, promised a legal battle against an $800 million loan pursued by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
President Buhari recently sought Senate approval to borrow $800 million from the World Bank.
The loan, intended to fund the National Social Safety Network Programme, was defended by the president as a means of providing relief to the economically disadvantaged in the wake of the removal of the petrol subsidy.
Senator Ndume, however, voiced his strong objections during an interview on Trust TV’s Daily Politics, contending the proposed loan was both “illegal” and “unconstitutional.”
“I will go to court because it is illegal, unconstitutional and unfair,” Ndume declared. “These guys are just using grammar to confuse this old man (Buhari) and he will just approve. Buhari does not understand this. They just want to steal the money and we cannot continue to allow this.”
According to Ndume, the loan would unfairly burden all Nigerians while benefiting only a select few.
He further questioned the fairness of distributing a random amount to Nigerians and claimed that the current administration was misleading the president.
“If you give Nigerians N4,000 randomly today, how fair is that?” the senator asked. “In fact, it is unconstitutional because the Constitution of Nigeria does not allow you to discriminate.”
Ndume expressed deep concern about the motives behind the loan, insinuating that those supporting it were more interested in personal gain than the welfare of the Nigerian people.
“Their target is what they can get out of it and not what Nigerians can get, you can quote me on that. They are misleading the President,” Ndume said.
As the matter heats up in the Senate, Ndume’s stand against the proposed loan has sparked a broader conversation about financial accountability and economic inequality in Nigeria, with the nation’s eyes keenly watching how this political drama will unfold.
