The Nigerian Senate will today consider President Goodluck Jonathan’s request to obtain 1 billion dollars loan to tackle security challenges in parts of the country.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Sen. Ita Enang, said the request would be laid on the order paper to be considered by the lawmakers.

“This is in view of the urgent need to tackle insecurity in the country, particularly in the North East,’’ he said.

President Goodluck Jonathan, on July 15, forwarded a letter to the National Assembly, asking the lawmakers to urgently approve the amount as external loan to fund the fight against the terrorist sect, Boko Haram.

In the letter, Jonathan said that the external loan was urgently needed to upgrade the equipment, training and logistics of the Armed Forces and security services.

Enang, however, debunked speculations that the senate was insensitive to the skirmishes in the North East.

“I am not aware of any request for the senate to cut short its recess to attend to the President’s letter; if we got, we should have granted it,’’ Enang said.

The senator said “you are all witnesses to how the senate president intervened on the doctors strike which made them to resume work’’.

“Senate president also intervened in other matters which I am not to say here and most of those things he did were captured in press releases from his office.

“This shows that the head of the senate was active during the break and therefore would have attended to such a request from the president,’’ Enang said.

On the position of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), Enang said it was among priority items to be considered.

He said the bill, which had passed the second reading, would be considered clause -by- clause preparatory to final passage.

The PIB, which has been pending since 2012 among other things, is to create the requisite business environment for petroleum operations.