APC won’t spend $1bn ECA fund without due process, says SP

Senate President Muhammadu Buhari has assured Nigerians that one billion dollars

Saraki stated this while reacting to comments by Senator Ike Ekweremadu on the $1 billion fund on Thursday, December 21, 2017.

The motion which was listed on the order paper was not considered by lawmakers due to Senator Sam Anyanwu’s absence.

“Senator Anyanwu came up with the issue of $1bn released by the governors’ forum on the fight against insurgence and under our rule this matter is to come up today for our consideration. I have look through the order paper and it is not there, I just want to seek explanation,” Ekweremadu said.

But, Saraki told lawmakers that the matter would be considered on the next legislative day – January 2017.

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“This matter should have come up today but Senator Sam Anyanwu was not able to present his paper today. He sought for more time and I agreed that we would take it on the next legislative day,” Saraki said.

“Next legislative day is when we resume in it would be the first item on the order paper. We cannot take it when the person is not here and it is a very important motion that needs to be delivered very well. It cannot be delegated. We would take it. I assure you that we would take it.

“Our party does not do things like that we would not spend money that does not follow due process I am assuring you that the money would not be spent until we come back and debate it. Leader, I hope you heard the commitment I made on behalf of all of us,” the Senate President declared.

Nigerian governors had approved the sum of $1 billion from the ECA for the purchase of weapons for the fight against the ‘degraded’ Boko Haram.