* as Oshiomhole meets Buhari’s Chief of Staff
President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday met with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, at the State House, Abuja.
EDITOR’S PICK: Buhari meets Speaker Gbajabiamila
Daily Trust learnt that the closed-door meeting was used to discuss the crisis rocking the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the complaint of the South East geo-political zone over the distribution of $22.7billion external loan.
The governors, under the aegis of the South-East Governors’ Forum, had protested against the decision not to allot a single project in the loan to the south-east zone and advised the National Assembly not to approve the facility.
The Speaker was said to have informed the President of the need to consider the concern raised by the stakeholders in the South-East, including the lawmakers.
Already, Senate had approved President Buhari’s request for $22.7billion external loan which was hitherto turned down by the eighth Senate under Bukola Saraki in 2016.
The federal government had said the loan, which would be used to finance projects on infrastructure, agriculture, health, education, water supply, growth and employment generation, would be funded by World Bank, African Development Bank (ADB), Islamic Development Bank (IDB), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JlCA), German Development Bank (KFW), China Exim Bank and French Development Agency.
The two key figures in the APC also discussed the issue concerning the ruling party, especially the division caused by the move to remove the National Chairman, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole.
Daily Trust also reports that the embattled APC National Chairman today met the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.
However, the outcome of the meeting was not made known to journalists.
