The Senate may recall its members, who are currently on annual vacation, to consider President Goodluck Jonathan’s request for $1bn external loan to fight the miltant Boko Haram sect.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Information and Public Affairs, Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, stated this on Friday.

Jonathan had on July 16, 2014 sent a letter to the National Assembly, asking the lawmakers to urgently approve the external loan for the Federal Government to confront the Boko Haram insurgency.

He said the external loan would be used to upgrade the equipment of the armed forces and the training of personnel.

The lawmakers, however, did not consider the President’s request before they went on their annual vacation last week.

Their vacation will end in September. However, there has been an upsurge in attacks by insurgents since the lawmakers started their holiday.

The sect struck in Kaduna on Wednesday killing 101 people. Also a bomb blast in Kano on Thursday killed five people.

A former Head of State, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) and a prominent Islamic cleric, Tahiru Bauchi, narrowly escaped death during the twin attack in Kaduna.

Abaribe said recalling the Senators from their annual vacation would not be a new thing as it was done during the Senator Ken Nnamani leadership to address a national emergency situation.

Abaribe also recalled that a former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, requested the Senate to reconvene to approve the imposition of emergency rule in Ekiti State.

He said, “The Senate will have no choice if it was asked by the presidency to cut short its current annual recess in order to address an emergency national issue.

“It has happened before; so if it is happening again, it will not be strange”

Also, the House of Representatives did not completely rule out the possibility of reconvening to consider Jonathan’s request, but it noted that the President had yet to forward the details of the loan to the House.

House Deputy Majority Leader, Mr. Leo Ogor, told SUNDAY PUNCH that when such details were made available, it would be at the discretion of the President of the Senate, David Mark, and the Speaker of the House, Mr. Aminu Tambuwal, to consider the possibility of recalling the lawmakers.

He stated that since the loan dealt with security matters, the details would simply be referred to the “Committee on Security”? whenever they were made available.

“Recalling the members of the National Assembly is at the discretion of the Senate President and Mr. Speaker.

“However, we do not have the details of the loan yet; they were not available when we went on vacation”, Ogor added.

He stressed the importance of stepping up the war against insurgency, saying that no amount of money was too much to spend “so long as we will win the war and restore peace to the affected areas of the country.

However, an All Progressives Congress Senator from the North-western part of the country, who preferred anonymity, doubted the possibility of such a recall.

The Senator noted that since virtually all his colleagues were currently on holiday in foreign countries with members of their family, recalling them would be very expensive.

He said it would cost the Federal Government an average of N2.5m each to recall each of the senators from their various trips abroad.

The senator said, “The Federal government is requesting for S1bn loan and spending another huge sums to get the Senate’s approval is not advisable.

“The senators may not succumb to such a recall until the presidency has guaranteed payment of the inconvenience allowance. They will collect transport fares from the various countries where they are currently on holiday.”

Source;
http://www.punchng.com/news/nassembly-may-reconvene-over-jonathans-1bn-loan-request/

The National Assembly and Okonjo should pls advice the President to go on trade by batter instead of incuring dept.

Okay! Pls they should also consider my request for N50,000 from any good spirited Nigerian.