Abuja — Senate on Thursday brushed aside protestations from some of its members and approved President Umaru Yar'Adua's request of a $10 million loan to the Democratic Republic of Sao Tome and Principe.

Some Senators, including Smart Adeyemi (PDP, Kogi west), Heineken Lokpobiri (PDP, Bayelsa) and Grace Folashade Bent (PDP, Adamawa south), were stridently opposed to the loan, insisting that Nigeria was not a "father Christmas".

They cited the issue of infrastructural decay in Nigeria to buttress their argument.

In a May 13 covering letter addressed to Senate President, David Mark, seeking approval for the loan, Yar'Adua had explained that Sao Tome and Principe would pay back the loan as it has a record of fulfilling its obligations.

"Sao Tome and Principe has a previous record of prompt repayment as was evidenced in the case of a similar loan of $15 million, granted between 2002 and 2004. The loan was fully repaid according to the terms of the loan in April 2007.

"Repayment will be from the Production Sharing Contract (PSC), in respect of the JDZ oil concessions, in which there are revenues from signature bonuses, sales of seismic data, royalties, and taxes."