Senate begins probe of over N30trn Ways and Means

The Senate has begun a probe into the payment of N30 trillion “Ways and Means” secured from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by the immediate past government in the last 10 years.

Consequently, the Senate has set up an ad hoc committee to carry out a holistic investigation into the matter and report to plenary in four weeks.

The Committee to probe the humongous N30 trillion ‘Ways and Means’, which was released as a loan to the Federal Government during the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration, was constituted by the Deputy Senate President, Senator Jibrin Barau, APC, Kano North, who presided over part of yesterday’s plenary.

The committee, which is chaired by Senator Jibrin Isah, APC, Kogi East, has Senators Asuquo Ekpenyong, APC, Cross River South; Mohammed Tahir Monguno, APC, Borno North; Victor Umeh, LP, Anambra Central; and Olamilekan Adeola, APC, Ogun West, as members.

Others are Senators Sani Musa, APC, Niger East; Aliyu Wadada, SDP, Nasarawa; Abdul Ningi, PDP, Bauchi Central; and Ipalibo Banigo Harry, PDP, Rivers West.

The constitution of the Committee yesterday was a sequel to an adopted resolution on Tuesday last week, of the need to probe the ‘Ways and Means’ of the former President Buhari administration.

The ‘Ways and Means’ is an overdraft taken directly from the Central Bank of Nigeria to solve the contingency needs of the nation following the approval and directive of the executive arm of government, which would have to be ratified by the parliament.

They are loans or advances by the CBN to the Federal Government to enable it to cater for short-term or emergency finance to fund delayed government expected cash receipts of fiscal deficits.

However, last week’s debate on ‘Ways and Means’ was thrown into confusion and rowdy session when the motion was raised without details of how the fund was spent, a development that infuriated Senator Ali Ndume, APC, Borno South, who insisted that details of ‘Ways and Means’ must be provided according to parliamentary rules.

In his remarks before announcing membership of the Committee, the Deputy Senate President, Jibrin Barau, who lamented alleged reckless spending that had caused inflation in the country, said, ‘Ways and Means’ would continue to be recorded in the balance sheet of the Central Bank of Nigeria, until it is completely liquidated, while he tasked the committee to do a thorough job with a view to recover the fund.

“According to statistics, the broad money supply, which is a key parameter for key inflationary trends, increased from N78.3 to 78.4 trillion in 2023, the highest ever recorded in Nigeria. The Central Bank of Nigeria’s Ways and Means which provides direct lending to the Federal Government of Nigeria causes unprecedented liquidity in the economy and the current inflationary pressure that we are experiencing.

“The financial obligation to the CBN now stands at N30 trillion. The inability to repay this temporary accommodation by the Federal Government of Nigeria led to the regularization of a 40 year loan at 9 percent interest per year.

“By implication, this debt will appear in the balance sheet of CBN for the next 40 years until liquidated. It is therefore imperative to interrogate the loans of the N30 trillion Ways and Means with a possibility of recovering whatever is possible.”