President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, has explained why it is important for the Nigerian government to continue to borrow responsibly to fund critical projects in the country.
He believes it is not feasible for the government to tax the people further in the face of the present economic situation and that the nation’s infrastructure must be developed.
The Senate President made the remarks on
Thursday while briefing State House correspondents after a closed-door meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari in Abuja, the nation’s capital.
According to Mr. Lawan, one cannot, in his view and judgement, tax Nigerians further to raise the money for infrastructural development; other countries do that, but we have serious situation across the country.
He added that it not commendable to put taxes on the people and that the only option left for use is to borrow responsibly, utilise prudently and economically, and ensure that the projects are self-sustaining; that they can pay back the loans.
He gave the assurance that the National Assembly would give legislative approval to the Executive loan request to fund the 2021 Appropriation Act before it embarked on a recess in July.
The lawmaker reiterated that the 2021 Supplementary Bill would also go through final consideration before the recess to fast-track the government’s procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and military hardware to tackle insecurity.
