The Senate has approved the payment of Ten Billion, Sixty-Nine Million Naira (N10,069,000,000) as refund to Kogi State for projects executed on behalf of the Federal Government of Nigeria under the Promissory Note Programme and Bond Issuance to settle inherited Local Debts and Contractual Obligations of the Federal Government.
Presenting the report of the Committee on Local and Foreign Debt at the plenary session of Wednesday, 13 November 2019, the Chairman, Sen. Clifford Ordia (Edo: PDP) noted that the purpose of the Promissory Note Programme and Bond Issuance is to clear unpaid debt owed by the Federal Government. He noted that the legislative actions carried out by the Committee on the matter had included:
- Conducting a briefing session with relevant agencies of the Federal and State Government;
- Reviewing written submissions and memoranda presented by the Ministry of Finance, Bureau of Public Procurement and the Kogi State Government; and
- Carrying an oversight visit to Kogi State to assess the projects executed to ascertain that it met the standard stipulated by the Federal Ministry of Works.
Sen. Ordia stated that the Committee had observed that the Federal Highways across the State were duly completed, noting that the principles of procurement as provided for by the Federal Bureau of Public Procurement were also adhered to.
It will be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had requested Senate’s approval of payment of the said amount to the Kogi State Government via a letter read by the President of the Senate, Sen. Ahmad Lawan (APC: Yobe) Tuesday, 15 October 2019.
