Angry South-East Senate Caucus meet with Senate President, Speaker over $22.7 Billion Loan

AGGRIEVED over the total exclusion of the South East Zone in the $22.7 billion loan, South-East Senate Caucus on Thursday entered into a marathon meeting with the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan.
The meeting a source told Vanguard is to express their grievances over the action.
The Senators were led to the meeting by the Leader of the Caucus, former Deputy President of the Senate, Senator Ike Ekweremadu.
Also at the meeting, which started at the Senate President’s office at the National Assembly, Abuja, at about 2:30pm on Thursday was the Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Peoples Democratic Party Party, PDP, Abia South.
Although details of the meeting is not out yet, informed sources said it was not unconnected with the total exclusion of the South East Zone in the $22.7 Billion loan.
A source said, “Obviously, the meeting is to register their grievances over the mistreatment of the South East region in the latest loan.
“Recall that the South East Region was excluded from the first Chinese loan for the railway. I think that was nearly $2 Bilkion. The Eastern Railway Corridor, which runs from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri and from the South South through North Central to the North East was also excluded from the second Chinese loan for railways. That was over $5 Billion. And now this one”.
After the meeting, the South East Senators crossed over to the House of Representatives, where they held a closed-door meeting with the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila.
A source told Vanguard that the Senators met at Ekweremadu’s Apo residence from Wednesday night till the early hours of Thursday where they collectively resolved to take all legitimate steps to register the region’s displeasure and seek redress.
The Senators were still meeting with Gbajabiamila and some other Principal Officers of the House as at the time of filing this report.