…Demand ‘piece of the action’
Angered by the exclusion of the South east zone in the projects to be executed with 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, according to informed sources, was to express their grievances over the situation.
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 (PDP), Abia South.
Although details of the meeting was not made public, sources said it was not unconnected with the exclusion of the South East zone in the $22.7 billion loan, which the Federal government is securing for infrastructure upgrade.
A source said: “I believe the meeting was to register their grievances over the mistreatment of the South East region in the latest loan drawdown.
“Recall that the South East Region was excluded from the first Chinese loan for the railway. I think that was nearly $2 billion. 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 also said the Senators met at Ekweremadu’s Apo residence from Wednesday night till the early hours of Thursday, and collectively resolved to take all legitimate steps to register the region’s displeasure and seek redress.