The Senate, on Tuesday, established a nine-member committee to probe the N30 trillion Ways and Means advances provided by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to the Federal Government.
Ways and Means is a loan facility extended by the CBN to the federal government to address budget shortfalls.
During the session presided over by Barau Jibrin, the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Isah, Senator representing Kogi East was appointed the Committee’s Chairman.
The decision to investigate the utilization of the loan follows its adoption of the report from the Joint Committee on Banking, Insurance and Other Financial Institutions; Finance; National Planning; Agriculture and Appropriations last week.
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The loan facility has however stirred controversy, with experts raising concerns over the CBN surpassing its lending limits to the Federal Government, against existing laws.
Barau, in his statement before announcing the committee’s composition, highlighted that excessive borrowing has contributed to inflation in the country.
“The financial obligation to the CBN now stands at N30 trillion. It is therefore imperative to scrutinize the N30 trillion Ways and Means loans to recover whatever is feasible,” he said.
Members of the ad hoc committee include Ekpeyong Asuquo, Mohammed Tahir Monguno, Victor Umeh, Olamilekan Adeola, Sani Mohammed Musa, Aliyu Wadada, Abdul Ningi, and Ipalibo Banigo Harry.
The Committee have been granted four weeks to submit their report for further legislative action.
