Saraki: No Deal With Presidency Over $29.9bn loan

The Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki on Thursday dismissed reports linking his recent visit to Presiden­tial Villa on the request by President Muhammadu Bu­hari for approval of the Na­tional Assembly to get $29.9 billion loan from interna­tional financial institutions and cautioned politicians and the media to desist from such speculations.
Saraki in a statement is­sued by his Special Adviser (Media and Publicity), Yusuph Olaniyonu, stated that in all his recent meet­ings with President Mu­hammadu Buhari and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the issue of the proposed loan has never come up for discussion.

He noted that the com­ments by some politicians on the loan issue was not based on facts. “Like I once told the media, these politically-motivated com­mentaries are trivialising a serious national issue and presenting it as if it is a per­sonal matter that can be de­cided at meetings between Saraki and President Mu­hammadu Buhari”.
“The National Assem­bly which I head as Senate President has taken a posi­tion on the issue as required of it by the laws of the land and legislative conventions,” he noted.
The Senate president fur­ther said: “At every point, the present National As­sembly will make decisions based on national interest and we have vowed that we will always act in the interest of our people. That is why despite the fact that mem­bers belong to different par­ties, when national issues come to the floor we forget about party affiliations and act as Nigerians elected to protect the interest of Ni­geria.
“A visit to the Presidency by the Senate President is a normal thing because we need to consult, discuss, ex­change ideas and make sug­gestions to each other from time to time. More impor­tantly, at this time, when the nation is facing economic crisis, there is need for fre­quent engagements by the Presidency and the National Assembly.”
Continuing he said: “It is in fact very unfortunate that these empty speculations by the media are now forming the basis for commentaries by some politicians who are in a position to be better in­formed. Politicians should stop playing to the gallery or drawing political capital from all issues. When seri­ous national issues are on ground, we should refrain from making statements based on mere sentiments. Similarly, the media should exercise restraint in their re­portage and commentaries in order to properly serve our people.