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Shehu Sanni Faults Senate Approval Of $22.7bn Loans To PMB
Former Senator, Shehu Sani has faulted the approval by the Senate to President Muhammadu Buhari in securing foreign loans of 22.7 billion dollars for Nigeria, saying that the administration has finally mortgaged the future of the nation and further plunged it into debts that cannot be repaid in half a century.
He said considering the circumstances surrounding the approval of the loans, the country’s overall interest and its future were not taken into consideration by the National Assembly, rather the commissioned agents, who are the beneficiaries of the foreign loans, are at advantage.
Sani reacted to the approval of the lawmakers to the loans that the 8th Assembly rejected, insisting that “the approval will plunge Nigeria into a deeper pit of debt.
“It is going to mortgage the future of our children. It is unfortunate that Nigeria has exhibited the London and Paris club, and also drag itself into the Washington and Beijing club. And we are very likely to remain there for a very long time. The debt profile of Nigeria is unsustainable. Most of the reasons why we are going to borrow money are not really tenable.
“We cannot repay this debt so easily, and what I know very well is that if this debt was approved under Jonathan, President Buhari and APC could have been in the forefront of protesting against it”.
“It is unfortunate that the very people who have raised issues on our national debt when they were in opposition or in Labour, today they have found themselves to be leaders in terms of promoting and also piling up debts for Nigeria. If we are not careful the whole country will be under the control and mortgage web of those foreign creditors’ institutions”.
Sani also remarked that “foreign debt is slavery, and we have simply worked ourselves into it under Buhari,” stressing, “as far as I am concerned, we supposed not to have reached this very level of poverty in the country if the past debt profile was well managed”.
“Debt should only be for critical infrastructure that would promote development and drive growth in our country. But, how can Buhari’s government that says it is netting over one billion naira every day through the closure of borders, and how can the government that says it has saved money as a result of subsidies and other critical measures, now go to borrow billions of dollars?”
“And, if you look at the revenue profile of Nigeria today, from what accrues to the country we will continue to service this debt for over half a century. And I don’t think that will go well for the nation”.
Adducing further reasons why Buhari’s government should not plunged the country into further debt, Senator Sani remarked, “there are critical infrastructure that simply needs a private-public partnership where the private sector will invest money, at the same time the profit would be shared by the public and the private sectors”.
“We don’t need to borrow money to build airport, we don’t need to borrow money to build infrastructure that will generate money, when if there are private interest that are ready to lend their money and to invest. So, I think the administration of the National Assembly have gotten themselves on the wrong side of history by getting us into debt. And this will continue to be an issue for the next 50 years.”
He also said that the 8th National Assembly refused to grant approval to Buhari request for foreign loans in order to protect the country’s critical interest, noting that “what matters to us then is the interest of the country and not the government, and serving the interest of somebody or becoming subservient to the executive”.
Sani further stressed: “We were concerned about our place in history and not piling up debts that the future generation will not be able to repay. So our signatures and approvals was very pressure to us and that was why we exercise restraint in terms of approving foreign loans.
“What you need to understand is that commissioned agents who facilitate this loan are only interested in their own commission. And loans are not charity, they must be repaid and with interest. So, those banks and those institutions and countries that are lending Nigeria money are simply investing for their own children, grandchildren and countries”.
“And as it is now, we are most likely to get into a quagmire of debts. During our time we rejected approval in order to save the country and save our children from being re-colonised by foreign creditors, so we were concerned of the future of our nation”, he added.
On the 350 million dollars acquired by Governor Nasir El-Rufai under the 9th National Assembly, remarked: “I wish the Kaduna Government and people luck, but during our time we rejected the loan for two reasons, first, the state is highly indebted to the tune of over 240 million dollars and we believe that if we add 250 million dollars that will strangulate the economy of the State and will also mortgage the future of the State”.
“And we rejected it also for the fact that there were also no defined reasons on how that money would be expended transparently. If the present National Assembly has seen it from a different perspective than the way we say it, we have no problem with that. But, I believe that history will be able to judge between the decision we took at that time and the one they have taken know”.

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Abandoned Roads: Lagos Assembly Sends Fresh Message

– invites works commissioner, contractors
– lawmakers to submit list of abandoned roads to govt
The Lagos State House of Assembly has called on the Government to urgently address the pain of residents in relation to some roads.
The lawmakers at a sitting presided over by Speaker Mojisola Lasbat Meranda particularly mentioned the abandoned Bola Ahmed Tinubu Road in Igbogbo-Baiyeku Local Council Development Area (LCDA) urging Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to direct the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to ensure that HITECH Construction Company resumes work on it.
They also urged all relevant agencies to develop a concrete plan for completing the project while ensuring adequate security measures for residents in the affected community.
Contained in the House resolution was that the contractors should receive an upfront payment of 60 to 70 percent to facilitate the prompt completion of projects.
Rt. Hon. Meranda directed all the lawmakers to compile lists of abandoned roads in their constituencies for submission to the appropriate ministry for immediate action.
The resolution followed a ‘matter of urgent public importance’ raised by Hon. Aro Moshood, who decried the hardship faced by Ikorodu residents due to the abandoned road.
“This road has been left in a deplorable state since 2017. What was meant to bring relief to the people has now become a source of distress, posing serious security and socio-economic challenges,” Moshood said.
The lawmaker highlighted the alarming rate of criminal activities including kidnappings, accidents and sexual assaults, all linked to the poor condition of the road in the area.
Contributing to the debate, Hon. Abiodun Ogunleye stressed the strategic importance of the road to the state adding that its completion would significantly boost economic activities in the area.
On his part, Hon. Lukmon Sa’ad Olumoh criticized the prolonged delay in the completion of the road, noting that the House had approved funds for the project in the previous year.
“It is disappointing that a road construction project has been abandoned for over seven years. I was part of a committee that inspected ongoing road projects across the state last year and contractors cited the fluctuating exchange rate as a major challenge.
“This House should invite the contractor handling the project to clarify whether they received the funds approved by this Assembly,” Hon. Olumoh said.
Deputy Chief Whip of the House, Hon. Sanni Ganiyu Okanlawon, insisted on a decisive action by the government. He also called on the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure as well as contractors to explain why the project remains uncompleted.
“This issue of abandoned road projects should not be treated with levity. I urge this House to summon the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure, alongside the contractors, to explain why these projects have stalled,” he stated.
Hon. Tobun Abiodun proposed enacting a law to mandate all administrations to complete projects initiated by their predecessors so as to prevent cases of uncompleted projects.
Speaking about the challenge, Deputy Majority Leader Adedamola Richard Kasunmu stressed that the issue extended beyond Ikorodu.
“This is not just an Ikorodu problem. It is happening across the state. We need to summon all relevant authorities, including the Ministry of Works and Infrastructure to provide explanations for these abandoned roads,” he said.
Following extensive deliberations, the Assembly unanimously resolved to summon the Commissioner for Works and Infrastructure and the contractors to provide a detailed report on the status of abandoned road projects in Lagos State.
News
Blackout As National Grid Suffers Disturbance

Nigeria experienced another nationwide blackout on Wednesday following the collapse of the national grid, the second such incident this year.
The incident occurred around 11:30 am on Wednesday, making it the second time the national grid will be suffering setback this year.
The Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) has yet to disclose the cause.
The Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) confirmed the incident, stating:
“We regret to inform you that a system disturbance occurred on the national grid at 11:34 a.m., causing power outages across our coverage areas. While gradual restoration has begun, we are working with stakeholders to fully stabilize supply.”
A popular Nigeria National Grid account on X also reported the collapse, noting that parts of the country were affected.
When contacted, TCN spokesperson Ndidi Mbah said she was in transit and would respond later.
This latest failure follows a similar collapse on January 11, 2025. In 2024, the national grid suffered at least 12 collapses, highlighting ongoing instability in Nigeria’s power sector.
News
IBEDC Restores Power Supply To UCH After 3 Months Of Darkness

The blackout at the University College Hospital, Ibadan, has now ended as the management of the Ibadan Electricity Distribution Company yesterday restored power to the teaching hospital.
The restoration of power to the hospital was confirmed to newsmen by the Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Professor Jesse Abiodun Otegbayo.
Recall that the hospital had been thrown into darkness after the distribution company cut off their power following a huge debt running into millions of Naira.
The strained customer-vendor relationship prompted the Minister of Power, Mr Adebayo Adelabu to pay a working visit to the hospital during which he brokered peace between the two managements. IBEDC then promised to restore power within 24–48 hours.
Initially, when Vanguard asked him if energy had been restored to the hospital, he answered in affirmative but added that a fault had been discovered outside the hospital which the IBEDC team were trying to fix.
Prof Otegbayo said in a terse message, “Yes, but they have reported fault outside the hospital which they are attending to“.
Some moments later, the CMD confirmed it that the power had been restored.
He said, “IBEDC power is now on in University College Hospital, Ibadan.”
Prior to the reconnection, the CMD explained that when the power was cut, the management tried to reduce the effects by solarizing some emergency areas in the hospital.
Professor Otegbayo said, “The management applied some temporary measures to cushion the effects of the power outage.
“We have installed solar inverters to major areas in the hospital such as Intensive Care Unit, Children’s Emergency Ward, Endoscopic Unit, Cardiac unit and others.
“All these wards have solar inverters to provide energy so that the wards and patients will not be in darkness. Our short term measures will continue to stabilize the emergency areas. Some of our underground cables have been there for more than 50 years. That’s not within the budget of the hospital.
But, the public doesn’t know what we are passing through.”
The hospital had dismissed a report that some patients brought in their generators as an alternative.
The management clarified further that anyone who came to the hospital at night would see that some departments had lights.
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