Ways & Means: Senate Grants Buhari’s Post Expenditure Approval Request Of N22.7 Trillion

Finally, the Senate has granted approval to the request made by President Muhammadu Buhari that the sum of N22.7 trillion spent via Ways and Means without legislative backing be passed into law.

This approval was made on Wednesday during plenary several years after spending the huge sum that was allegedly secretly sourced from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.

The N22.7 trillion was borrowed by the federal government from the CBN, through the “ways and means advances”.

But the approval for borrowing and expenses took place without the approval of the upper legislative chamber.

It drew the ire of the opposition lawmakers in December 2022, when the president finally sought approval to back the extra-budgetary expenditure by law.

The opposition lawmakers had stoutly opposed the after expenditure request for approval, demanding full details on how the executive undertook the extra-budgetary expenditure.

They sensed that a large part of the sum may have been looted which was why it was difficult for the executive to break down and disclose how the money was spent.

The executive had transmitted the request for approval to the red chamber after media reports that indicted the administration of spending without approval with the huge sum coming from the CBN.

When the bill was rejected, Buhari had warned that refusal to pass the Ways and Means Restructuring request will place Nigeria at risk of incurring additional N1.8 trillion debt.

However, the approval was finally granted after Ibrahim Gobir, senate leader, presented a report.