Opposition reps walk out of plenary over bill to raise ways and means to 10%

There was chaos at the house of representatives on Wednesday over a bill seeking to raise the ways and means advances from 5 percent to 10 percent of the previous year’s revenue of the federal government.

Ways and means is a loan facility through which the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) finances the federal government’s budget shortfalls.

The CBN law stipulates advances by the apex bank must not exceed 5 percent of the previous year’s revenue of the federal government — but this has been observed in breach over the years.

During the plenary, opposition parties staged a walk out after Kingsley Chinda’s recommendation of two percent was rejected.

The minority leader proposed the amendment during the consideration of the report on the bill at the committee of the whole, saying this will enhance transparency in federal government spending.

The report proposed raising the ways and means advances from the existing 5 percent to 15 percent.

James Faleke, chairman of the committee on finance, opposed Chinda’s amendment, urging the house not to go below the 5 percent in the act.

Ibrahim Isiaka, a lawmaker from Ogun state, supported Faleke’s position, proposing the borrowing limit should be raised from 5 percent to 10 percent of the previous year’s revenue.

Idris Wase, a former deputy speaker, moved a motion for an amendment that 10 percent should be maintained.

DEPUTY SPEAKER RULED IN FAVOUR OF THOSE SUPPORTING 15%

When Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker and presiding officer, called for a voice vote on Wase’s amendment motion, the “nays” were louder than the “ayes,” but he ruled in favour of the “ayes”.

This provoked the lawmakers, who loudly expressed their dissent with a repeated “no”.

At this point, the opposition lawmakers led by Chinda, walked out of plenary.

Subsequently, the report was adopted and passed for third reading.

Debates on ways and means began on December 28, 2022, when former President Muhammadu Buhari requested the national assembly securitises N22.7 trillion ways and means advances from the CBN.

In January 2023, Buhari told the senate it would cost the federal government about N1.8 trillion in interest if the national assembly failed to approve the N22.7 trillion in extra-budgetary spending.

On May 23, 2023, the senate approved Buhari’s request.

In December last year, Godwin Emefiele, the former governor of CBN, was linked to a “fraud” case involving the apex bank’s loan.

A report by a panel investigating CBN and related entities — led by Jim Obazee, a special investigator — had said Emefiele and Zainab Ahmed, former finance minister, had jointly signed a statement advising Buhari to restructure the ways and means of N23.71 trillion despite presenting “a different figure to the National Assembly on the same date”.