With just less than one week to the end of his eight-year tenure, President Muhammadu Buhari has written a letter to the National Assembly, seeking the Senate’s approval for the payment of sundry judgment debts in the sum of $566,754,584.31, £98,526,012.00, and N226 billion
The requested funds are the monies which the Federal Government owed through the issuance of promissory notes.
The Senate President, Sen. Ahmad Lawan, read Buhari’s letter on the floor of the Senate during plenary on Wednesday, about four months after 648 court cases were filed against the President and other Federal Government agencies.
The President’s letter to the Red Chamber partly reads: “The Distinguished Senate President may wish to be informed that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) at its meeting of March 29, 2023, approved the liquidations of top priority judgment debts and general judgment debts owed by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through the issuance of promissory notes.
“The judgment debts are to be settled through the issuance of promissory notes which will then be redeemed over time through provisions in the budgets of the Federal Government of Nigeria. Thus debt securities have been issued for the settlement of the judgment debts and approval of the National Assembly is required for this purpose
“In view of the foregoing, I wish to request the Senate to kindly consider and approve, through its resolution, the settlement of a top priority judgment debts and general judgment debts incurred by the federal MDAs in the sum of $566,754,584, GB98,526 and N226,281,801,881.
“The Honourable Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice and the Honourable Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning shall provide any information that may be required by the Senate for the consideration of this request”, Buhari pleaded.
