*Begins New Minimum Wage Negotiation With Labour
*Seeks NASS Approval For $20.5bn, €1.45bn Supplementary Borrowing Plan
*What Are You Doing With The Money, Asks Umeh
*Atiku: ‘Is This A Campaign Financing Scheme?’
PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has approved a monthly transport allowance of N70,000 for federal public service workers across all cadres.
This came as the four-day deadline given by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) to shut down the economy over the fuel price hike and minimum wage dispute ends on Tuesday, October 27.
The allowance award was the highpoint of a resolution reached after a meeting on Tuesday between the Minister of Labour and Employment, Muhammad Maigari Dingyadi, and the Joe Ajaero leadership of the NLC.
The Federal Government announced that the transport support, effective from November 5, will last for six months across all levels to cushion the impact of rising living costs.
The Federal Government also approved the payment of outstanding peculiar allowance arrears, effective from May 1, this year, in three equal monthly installments, beginning in November this year.
Both parties also agreed to constitute a negotiation committee to meet immediately to determine an effective date for implementing a new national minimum wage.
Recall that the NLC had given the Federal Government a four-day deadline to reduce fuel prices and review the N70, 000 monthly minimum wage.
Meanwhile, Tinubu is seeking the approval of the National Assembly for $20.5billion, €1.45billion (($1.17 billion) supplementary borrowing plan it said was intended to fund critical infrastructure, agriculture, education and other key sectors of the economy, in line with the administration’s development priorities for 2026 to 2027.
In a letter to lawmakers, Tinubu said the plan would support projects across sectors, including infrastructure, agriculture, healthcare, education, water supply, security, employment generation and financial management reforms aimed at accelerating economic growth.
He stated: “I submit the attached Federal Government 2026-2027 Supplementary External Borrowing Plan for consideration and early approval of the National Assembly to ensure prompt implementation of our projects.”
The President explained that external funding was needed to bridge a financing gap created by the country’s substantial infrastructure needs.
However, many Nigerians have queried the essence and impact of the numerous external loans by the Federal Government, including the senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh, who questioned how the Federal Government had spent funds from previous borrowings and asking why budgetary obligations remain unmet, despite repeated approvals for loans.
Speaking on a television programme on Tuesday, while reacting to the President’s latest request, Umeh, a senatorial candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), argued that previous borrowing requests were justified on the grounds that the funds would finance government budgets, yet contractors were still owed for capital projects.
He said: “The truth is that we have approved so many funds to be borrowed in the past, and on each occasion, we’ve been told that this borrowing would be able to fund the budgets, and these budgets have remained unfunded up till this day.”
He said three budgets were running concurrently, while the government had yet to meet its obligations to contractors handling capital projects, adding: “So, if you borrow to finance a budget and you are not able to finance that budget, where has the money gone to? That is the question in the lips of everybody.”
The senator was worried that the latest loan request would eventually receive legislative approval, as opposition lawmakers would be outvoted by members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in both chambers of the National Assembly.
On his part, former vice president and ADC presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, urged the National Assembly to withhold approval for request.
Atiku, in a statement on Tuesday by his campaign’s Director of Strategic Communication, Phrank Shaibu, questioned the timing and purpose of the proposed borrowing, saying it vindicated his October 12 warning that Tinubu was preparing to borrow up to $20billion for the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway.
Atiku said Tinubu had not provided sufficient details of the projects to be funded, including their locations, costs and contractors, to enable Nigerians to scrutinise the proposed expenditure, expressing concern that the loans could be channelled to political campaigners and favoured contractors.
According to the statement: “Barely 12 weeks before an election, how can the President ask lawmakers to saddle Nigerians with more than $20billion and €1billion in debt without identifying the projects and their costs?”
“Is this a development plan for Nigerians or a campaign financing scheme dressed up as infrastructure?”
The former vice president, therefore, urged the federal legislature not to approve the loans until the President published details of every project, contract, cost, contractor, loan term and repayment obligation, saying Nigerians deserved to know how the borrowed funds would be spent and who would benefit from the projects.
He stated: “You cannot continue taking frivolous loans on the eve of your departure from office.
“I put local and international lenders on notice: Any loan granted to this winding-down administration must meet all constitutional, statutory and due process requirements. Upon assumption of office, I will scrutinise every such loan.
“Any borrowing found to have been obtained without proper authorisation or process will be challenged and will not be allowed to stand.”
He said families already struggling with the cost-of-living crisis should not be burdened with additional debt without adequate transparency and accountability, calling on the lawmakers to subject the borrowing proposal and its supporting documents to rigorous scrutiny before making a decision.
