President Muhammadu Buhari has written to the Senate, seeking approval for a request to pay the judgement debt in the sum of $566,754,584, £98,526 and N226 billion.
The President’s letter of request was read at plenary by Senate President Ahmad Lawan during plenary on Wednesday
Buhari in the letter said the approval will enable the government to pay the judgment debt owed.
The letter read: “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 judgement debts and general judgement debts owed by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through the issuance of promissory notes.
“The judgement 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 judgement 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 the top priority judgement debts and general judgement debts incurred by Federal MDAs in the sum of USD566,754,584.31, £98,526,012.00 and N226,281,801,881.64 through the issuance of promissory notes.
“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.”
Ifunanya Ikueze is an Engineer, Safety Professional, Writer, Investor, Entrepreneur and Educator.