The Senate has started the process to approve the $29.96bn foreign loan request forwarded to the National Assembly by the President Muhammadu Buhari.
The immediate past Senate headed by Bukola Saraki rejected the loan request when it was brought before it.
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, had declared at a news conference on Monday that the Senate will approve the bill.
He referred the request to the Committee on Local and Foreign Loans at the plenary.
Lawan asked the committee to work on the proposal and report back to the Senate within two weeks.
A former Senator, Shehu Sani who was a member of the 8th Assembly last month explained why the Saraki-led senate turned down the loan request.
He said, ““If we had approved that loan request, our external debt could have catapulted to over $52bn and that is not sustainable.
“With the current escalation of borrowing, we will be walking into debt slavery and move from landlords to tenants in our own country.
“They will always tell you that even America is borrowing and I don’t know how rational it is to keep on borrowing because another country is borrowing.
“If we keep listening to bankers and contractors, we will keep borrowing and burying ourselves and leave behind for our children a legacy of debt burden.
“Loans are not charities. Most of those encouraging more borrowing are parasitic consultants, commission agents, rent-seeking fronts and contractors.”
