President Muhammadu Buhari has requested the Senate’s approval to release a promissory note that will cover the payment of a judgment debt owed by the Federal Government. The amount in question is $566,754,584.31, £98,526,012.00, and N226,281,801,881.64.

In a letter read out during the plenary on Wednesday, President Muhammadu Buhari requested the Senate’s approval to release a promissory note that will cover the payment of a judgment debt owed by the Federal Government.

The letter stated that the Federal Executive Council (FEC) had approved the liquidation of top priority judgment debts and general debts owed by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through the issuance of promissory notes during its meeting on March 29, 2023.

To pay off the judgment debts, the plan is to issue promissory notes that will be redeemed gradually through allocations in the budgets of the Nigerian government. Essentially, debt securities have been created to settle the debts, but the approval of the National Assembly is needed to make this happen.

Based on what has been said, I ask the Senate to please review and approve the payment of the most important debts that the Federal MDAs have accumulated. The total debts are 566,754,584.31 dollars, 98,526,012.00 Pounds and N226,281,801,881.64. This will be done by creating promissory notes.

The Attorney-General of the Federation, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning will be available to provide any additional information that the Senate may need to consider and approve this request.

During a plenary session, the Senate introduced five bills for their first reading. These bills consist of the Federal Medical Centres Act Amendment Bill 2023, sponsored by Sen. Gobir Ibrahim (APC-Sokoto). Sen. Gobir Ibrahim (APC-Sokoto) also sponsored the Federal Teaching Hospital, Markurdi, Benue State Establishment Bill,2023.

Other bills introduced were the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Act Amendment Bill,2023, also sponsored by Sen. Gobir Ibrahim (APC-Sokoto), and the Federal University of Petroleum Technology, Ohaji-Egbema Establishment Bill,2023, which Sen. Rochas Okorocha sponsored.