The National Assembly resumed plenary on Tuesday, 9th November, after three weeks of Budget defence sessions, following the presentation of the 2022 Appropriations Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari. The Senate and House of Representatives had adjourned plenary on the 13th and 14th October respectively, for this purpose. On the said Tuesday, 9th November, both houses of the National Assembly approved and adopted the report of its Conference Committee on the Electoral Bill 2021. This concludes the passage of the bill at the National Assembly. At this time, the Bills section and the Legal Directorate of the National Assembly are putting finishing touches to ready the bill for transmission to the President for assent.
Also, the Senate on Wednesday, 10th November, considered the report of its Committee on Local and Foreign Debts and approved President Muhammadu Buhari’s loan request on the 2018-2020 Federal Government External Borrowing Plan, to the tune of $16.2 billion and €1 billion to fund multilateral projects. There is growing concern about President Buhari’s unprecedented borrowing with many Nigerians including the main opposition party, PDP questioning the fiscal prudence of the administration and the long-term economic impact of these loans.