Amid concerns over Nigeria’s rising debt profile, Senator representing Abia North at the National Assembly, Orji Kalu, has warned that the economy is at risk of collapsing without the government’s borrowings.
Bellnews reports that the former Governor of Abia State, while speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, addressed criticism of the National Assembly’s role in approving executive loan requests.
He said, “Let me tell you, if this economy does not borrow, it will collapse. That is the truth. That is where we are.”
When asked whether legislators adequately scrutinise requests for loans, Kalu dismissed public criticisms, insisting that the due legislative processes are always followed.
The former Senate Chief Whip cited the recent passage of the tax bill as proof of the Senate’s diligence, stressing that critics want them to fight the executive.
He said, “The Committee on Foreign Debt and Local Debt scrutinises them. I’m not a member of that committee. These jobs are mainly done at the committee level. For me, the National Assembly has done its job.
“Any law or anything you see passed in the National Assembly has gone through the level it’s supposed to. Once it takes its course, I’m satisfied. That’s the definition of lawmaking.
“We are very thorough. People just want to see us fighting with the executive. We are adults. We cannot fight. For the interest of Nigeria, we have mechanisms to safeguard that.
“The day we passed the tax bill, I went to the Senate President’s house to congratulate him. It was a thorough job. All the evenings we were there—seven o’clock, six o’clock—we took it one by one. That’s not what a rubber stamp does.”