former Minister of State for Defence and Minister of State for Interior, Mr. Ademola Seriki
A former Minister of State for Defence, Mr. Demola Seriki, says the Senate should not have approved the $1bn loan request of President Goodluck Jonathan at once.
Seriki, who was also Minister of State for Interior during the administration of President Umaru Yar’adua, said the approval of the loan at once would encourage stealing.
He said this during a meeting with All Progressives Congress leaders in the Ifako-Ijaye Local Government Area on Wednesday.
He said, “The Federal Government declared a state of emergency in three North-Eastern states about 18 months ago but the security situation has continued to worsen. The President then approached the Senate for $1bn in the last quarter of the year.
“I would have expected that the Senate would have approved the loan in bits, based on performance. It could have first approved $250m and then based on need, approve another $250m in the second quarter. That way, the Federal Government would use the money judiciously and it would limit spending.
“The Senate has shown itself to be too weak and approving $1bn less than four months to the election will increase the tendency of that money to be used for elections. In fact, you cannot convince me that the money is not meant for elections.”
Seriki, while declaring his intention to contest the Lagos-West senatorial election, said Lagos-West was in dire need of quality representation at the National Assembly.
He said the district was larger than six states in the country and was home to both the Tin Can ports and the Murtala Muhammed Airport.
He therefore argued that it needed special attention of the Federal Government.
He said, “When I was the supervising Minister for Mines and Steel, I learnt that Lagos had large deposits of bitumen. Unfortunately this has not been harnessed by the Federal Government.
“At least 40 per cent of the industries in Nigeria are in Lagos-West. The entire stretch of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway is in Lagos-West and you can imagine the volume of traffic on that road. We need a special inclusion in the budget.”
Seriki, who was also Minister of State for Interior during the administration of President Umaru Yar’adua, said the approval of the loan at once would encourage stealing.
He said this during a meeting with All Progressives Congress leaders in the Ifako-Ijaye Local Government Area on Wednesday.
He said, “The Federal Government declared a state of emergency in three North-Eastern states about 18 months ago but the security situation has continued to worsen. The President then approached the Senate for $1bn in the last quarter of the year.
“I would have expected that the Senate would have approved the loan in bits, based on performance. It could have first approved $250m and then based on need, approve another $250m in the second quarter. That way, the Federal Government would use the money judiciously and it would limit spending.
“The Senate has shown itself to be too weak and approving $1bn less than four months to the election will increase the tendency of that money to be used for elections. In fact, you cannot convince me that the money is not meant for elections.”
Seriki, while declaring his intention to contest the Lagos-West senatorial election, said Lagos-West was in dire need of quality representation at the National Assembly.
He said the district was larger than six states in the country and was home to both the Tin Can ports and the Murtala Muhammed Airport.
He therefore argued that it needed special attention of the Federal Government.
He said, “When I was the supervising Minister for Mines and Steel, I learnt that Lagos had large deposits of bitumen. Unfortunately this has not been harnessed by the Federal Government.
“At least 40 per cent of the industries in Nigeria are in Lagos-West. The entire stretch of the Apapa-Oshodi Expressway is in Lagos-West and you can imagine the volume of traffic on that road. We need a special inclusion in the budget.”
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