The floating of Nigeria’s $20billion Sovereign Green Bond suffered a major set back on Wednesday, as the N7.298trillion 2017 budget has stalled the process.
This is due to Senate’s accusation of the Nigeria Police of truncating the budget passage by allegedly stealing documents relating to the appropriation bill.
Recall that the Presidency had linked the issuance of the Green Bond to early passage of this year’s budget.
Outgone Minister of Environment Amina Mohammed had on her last day at the Federal Executive Council meeting said issuance of the first $20 billion out of the $100billion would commence at the beginning of the second quarter of the year, specifically at the beginning of April.
However, the Minister of State for Environment Ibrahim Jibrin hinged the issuance of the bond on the passage of the 2017 budget.
While consultations to fine-tune the technical details of the bond had commenced, the minister said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had already opened an account domiciled in the apex bank for the bond.
The green bond, the first of its kind in Nigeria will be the first sovereign issuance from an African nation.
Officials say it will be used to fund a range of climate-related initiatives including mass transit, land re-afforestation, remediation and solar projects.
“We said it is a sovereign green bond and that means it has to go through the national budget. We are working in active collaboration with the federal ministry of finance as well as the debt management office.
“We have gotten Central Bank to open an account with the proceeds, but since it is sovereign the National Assembly will have to pass the budget first before we can do the launch and that is what is holding us,” Jibrin said.
He also explained that three pipeline projects will benefit from the green bond once established. The projects which include the financing of renewal energy and afforestation will also see to the reduction of carbon emissions through the provision of extra transportation for citizens.
At Wednesday plenary, the Senate accused the Nigerian Police of truncating the budget passage by stealing 18 documents and a laptop relevant to the passage of the appropriation bill.
This, it said, followed the police raid on the Abuja residence of the Chairman, Senate Committee on Appropriations Danjuma Goje last Thursday.
The upper legislative chamber therefore directed the Inspector-General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to immediately return the documents and computer back to the lawmaker.
Raising a Point of Order at Wednesday plenary, Goje said the budget would have been presented on Tuesday, passed Wednesday and presented to President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday.
The senator said the policemen took N18 million, in addition to 19 thousand dollars and four thousand Saudi Riyadh from his house after the operation.
Following his presentation, the Senate asked the Police to tender public apology to the National Assembly in addition to returning all the documents.
Senate President Bukola Saraki, disclosed that the Police had already informed the Senate Committee on Police Affairs that the operation in Goje’s house was carried out based on wrong information from a whistle blower.
Saraki however insisted that the Senate would not take that excuse as he declared that an immediate official explanation must be provided to the Senate on the operation.
Senate also announced the establishment of a seven-man ad-hoc committee to begin an immediate investigation into the police operation.
The committee which has Jibril Barau (APC, Kano North) as chairman also include Issa Misau, Foster Ogola, Chukwuka Utazi, David Umoru, Monsurat Sunmonu and Ibrahim Danbaba.
Terms of reference of the panel include to work closely with a similar committee set up in the House of Representatives to ascertain the circumstances surrounding why police invaded the senator’s residence, probe what the police is doing about the wrong information given by the whistle blower, ensure that the files and laptop taken by the police are brought to Goje formally and publicly as well as investigate the attempted assassination of Senator Dino Melaye.
The proposed N7.298trillion 2017 budget submitted by the President on December 14, 2016 was initially slated to be passed before the end of March, 2017.
Senate Leader Ahmad Lawan later gave deadline of April ending before Goje stated that the budget would be passed before May 5.
With the latest controversy, the National Assembly is set to extend the 2016 budget beyond May 5 – when the budget expires – to give legal backing to Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to continue spending last year’s budget.
OWEDE AGBAJILEKE
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