DIVISION IN NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OVER PRESIDENT JONATHAN'S $1 BILLION LOAN REQUEST

  There is palpable division among the members of the National Assembly on whether or not the $1 billion loan request made by President Goodluck Jonathan should be approved or not. In his letter to the National Assembly, the President claimed there is an urgent need for the huge sum of money to upgrade the equipment of the armed forces and the training of the personnel in order to confront the Boko Haram insurgency.
   The big question most of the National Assembly members are asking is that President Jonathan should  be able to account for the money released so far to fight the insurgents. According to Senator Magnus Abe[ APC,Rivers State] in a recent interview with SUNDAY PUNCH,''I have nothing against the release of the money to fight the insurgency, but President Jonathan should satisfy himself and Nigerians that the amount of money so far released  for the anti-terrorism activities had been judiciously utilised....it will be a very sad development if it turned out at the end of the day that the $1 billion being requested by the President was diverted into politics.''
   Senator Babafemi Ojudu said the request by the President was ''not desirable and obviously, not justifiable.''