The Minority Leader of House of Representatives,  Femi Gbajabiamila, has kicked against the request of President Goodluck Jonathan to the National Assembly to take a $1 billion loan to tackle insecurity in the country.

Instead, the lawmaker wants the National Assembly to carry out a comprehensive audit of defence spendings in the last three years.

” This must be a condition precedent before a kobo is ever approved again”, he said.

Should the loan option be considered necessary, Gbajabiamila also advised the Federal Government to explore a trade by barter option in its effort to step up military hardware and train military personnel instead of piling up debts for the country.

Gbajabiamila: counsels Jonathan on $1bn loan

The All Progressives Congress (APC) and Leader of Opposition made all these suggestions  in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday by his media aide, Wasiu Olanrewaju-Smart.

The lawmaker expressed dismay at President Jonathan’s penchant for loans when the country has sovereign wealth fund, reserve and excess oil revenue.

“Anyone who accedes to this request and any foreign country that actually gives such a loan in my opinion will be guilty of aiding and abetting corruption as an accessory before and after the fact.”—Gbajabiamila

According to Gbajabiamila, “The Federal Government by setting an illegal benchmark has been creaming off about $ 30 per barrel of our crude oil sales which it puts in an illegal excess crude account. If it insists on cash, it should reach into that illegal account. Again, it also set up the Sovereign Wealth Fund, a component of which it described as future generation account. Well Madam Minister, the Chibok girls represent the future generation, go into that account if you must. Assuming the National Assembly will allow that. But to incur a further $1billion loan at whatever interest rate, that is one loan too many for our future generation to pay off and the answer is a CAPITAL NO!!!”

The lawmaker added : “The request for $1 billion loan by the President after the three trillion Naira allocated to Defence in three years with nothing to show for it, it’s evident that the President and his advisers regard Nigerians as imbeciles (which they are not). For sake of clarity, an imbecile is defined as a blockhead or a dunce.”

The lawmaker advised his colleagues in National Assembly to restrain themselves from granting the “perfidious request” and implored the Federal Government to try exchanging oil for military hardware like other needy countries have done in the past if truly Nigeria has weak military equipment considering the country’s previous budgets for defence.

“I personally do not think any more cash should pass through government at this time. If indeed more money is needed for the training of our men and women in uniform which I doubt, then we should resort to the time tested trade by barter. This means of commodity exchange continues between countries all over. We can exchange oil for arms if need be.

“The Al Yamamah arms deal between the Saudis and UK wherein a large amount of British military hardware was sold to the Saudi Government for 600,000 barrels of crude oil a day comes to mind.

“So does the oil for arms deal between China and Venezuela and the deal struck by the U.S. in 2011 when over 80 F15 fighter jets were sold to the Royal Saudi Air Force. The deal included training, logistics and maintenance,” he said.

Gbajabiamila further advised his colleagues at the National Assembly to rebuff any move to plunge the country into another debt and elevate corruption, listing six posers they must consider before taking a stand on the request of executive.

“Firstly, a comprehensive audit of what has happened to all the money allocated by the National Assembly to Defence in the last three years must be done immediately. This must be a condition precedent before a kobo is ever approved again.

“Secondly, we have the MTEF which laid out government expenditure framework for the next three years. We must stack this alongside this recent request and see if there is any place for such.

Thirdly, what was the amount of debt forgiveness or forbearance given to Mohammed Abacha? That amount, if any, must be stacked against the loan sought to determine whether granting same makes any sense.

Fourthly, what are the conditions for the loan? What is the repayment schedule and who bears the burden?

Fifthly, what did the recently-held World Economic Forum in Abuja cost government and what were the economic derivatives for government to now turn around months later to ask for a $1billion loan.

Sixthly, it was reported that government had set up a forensic audit to investigate the alleged missing $20billion from government coffers. This in spite of the fact that the Finance Minister whilst disputing the quantum of the money admitted she could not account for N10billion. Where are we with the investigation?

“These are questions begging for answer and the National Assembly must get clear answers to them before even considering the request not to talk of rejecting it,” Gbajabiamila said.

The House Minority Leader also cautioned foreign donors from colluding with the executive arm of government in encouraging corruption, saying “Anyone who accedes to this request and any foreign country that actually gives such a loan in my opinion will be guilty of aiding and abetting corruption as an accessory before and after the fact.”