NASS committed to welfare of Nigerians—Dogara

The Speaker House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, said the National Assembly was committed to alleviating the sufferings of Nigerians.

The speaker made this known in Abuja on Tuesday when he was inaugurating a 20-member Tactical Committee on Economic Recession.

Dogara urged the ad hoc committee to interface with relevant stakeholders to ensure that the committee identified and implemented solutions that would put an end to the recession.

He advised the committee to create a strong platform that would restore the country economy to the path of growth and stability.

“Going by the report of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, economic recession is already with us.

“The double quarters of negative growth, high level of inflation, worsening purchasing power of the Naira and the increasing levels of unemployment are all strong indicators that all is not well.

“Today, some of our people can no longer afford to feed. Some school children are dropping out of school due to inability of parents to pay school fees.

“Transportation, power, healthcare are difficult for the ordinary citizens.

There is general anguish on the faces of Nigerians due to poverty and hunger.

“We cannot continue to lament. The problems are well known. At this point in time, it is the solutions that matters more and that is what should engage our attention.

“As a parliament, we are committed to ensuring that the sufferings being experienced by ordinary Nigerians are alleviated.

“These challenges may appear too difficult to surmount but the good news is that they are surmountable.

“Other nations have surmounted greater economic challenges in the past and Nigeria’s case cannot be different.’’

The speaker emphasised that the National Assembly had aligned with the executive arm of government to turn around the economy by focusing on priorities that would make maximum impact on recovery and growth.

“As partners in progress, the National Assembly had in 2016 offered wide ranging legislative and other economic ideas and solutions to the executive in a concurrent resolution of both chambers,’’ he added.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Committee, Rep. Bode Ayorinde said that recession should be seen as an opportunity to discover and identify our faults and strength.

Ayorinde said that the committee would swing into action by joining hands with other relevant authorities to provide succour to Nigerians.