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Tag: economic recession

  • Nigeria, Brazil discuss agreements on prisoner exchange, agric others

    Nigeria, Brazil discuss agreements on prisoner exchange, agric others

    ….Blamed recession for the fall in volume of trade

    Nigeria and Brazil are to open talks on prison exchange between both countries, among other agreements to be looked into, it was learnt Thursday.

    This is as both countries lamented the effect of economic recession on the volume of trade, which has drastically dropped from about $14 billion dollar a year to $2 billion.

    At a joint press briefing Thursday, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama and Mr. Aloysio Nunes Ferreira Foreign Affairs Minister of Nigeria and Brazil respectively said the robust trade relation has been negatively impacted upon by the economic recession.

    Fereira who said that the trade volume between the two countries was two billion dollars in 2016 said that some years back it was about 12billion dollars.

    He said that the volume of trade crash due to economic crisis resulting from fall in the price of crude oil among other factors.

    “Volume of trade is two billion dollars but some years back it was about 12 billion dollars and has now decrease because of economic crisis.

    “This is what we are trying to revive so that Nigeria and Brazil trade relations can start to grow again,” he said.

    He said that partnership between the two countries was a unique one which was not just only on economic

    “Our partnership is strategic as it is not only on trade it is historical and cultural.

    “We have cooperation in investment; we just had conference of Nigerian-Brazilian investors in Lagos which aimed at boosting the prospect possibilities of partnership and investment in the country.

    “Some of them have already started yielding very good result,” he said.

    Earlier, Onyeama had said that there were plans to improve the balance of trade between two countries.

    The Minister said that the two countries would work together to strengthen their bilateral relations.

    He said that Nigeria was also looking at partnering with Brazil in the area of food production.

    “As you know Brazil is one of the largest food producers in the world. We have different areas through which Nigeria and Brazil can really cooperate in the agricultural sector.

    He said that Nigeria could learn a lot in the area of research and production of food which could be done through a number of programmes being run by Brazil.

    “They also have a number of interesting programmes in assisting interesting countries in food production and making food available.

    “So we are looking to benefiting from that especially in the area of life stock and other food produce.

    “We did discuss the possibilities of how to take part in the very effective food programme,” he said.

  • Stooping to conquer economic recession

    Stooping to conquer economic recession

    For many firms, it was tough weathering the recession storm. With Nigeria out of recession, firms that survived the storm are looking back and giving thanks for their survival. It was not easy, they said, pointing out that it was a learning curve, BUKOLA AROLOYE  writes

    NIGERIA is out of recession, but it will take some time before its citizens start to feel its impact. But how did companies fare under recession?

    They said they adopted several strategies to remain afloat during the period. An expense that many businesses cut when faced with budgetary restraints is employees. Several employers embarked on  downsizing to remain ofloat.

    Experts agreed that while it could be necessary to lay off workers at some point during the recession, this should not be first option. This, they argued, because replacing staff later will cost even more when the cost of training and retraining is factored in.

    According to the National President, Association of Small Business Owners of Nigeria (ASBON), Dr. Femi Egbesola, in times of recession, it is the survival of the fittest. To survive the period, he explained that the small medium enterprises (SMEs), had to exit their comfort zone and became more active and innovative. “We improved on our way and manner of doing business, built our capacities the more, diversified to other fast selling and affordable products and services, cut cost and expenses, blocked leakages, improvised with locally available raw materials where possible, reduce staffing, sourced for cheaper funds with lower interest rates,” he explained. He further revealed that entrepreneurs became more involved in their businesses, and explored ways to improve their products to become more competitive, including exploring a better use of the social platform to advertise and increase their access to market, including fashioning out better technologies of running their businesses to bring down their cost of production.

    For the President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Frank Jacob, the most important measure taken by manufacturers in addressing and surviving the situation was to step up her advocacy through frequent engagements with the government for better understanding of the veracity of the problems and evolving credible ways of mitigating them. This advocacy, he explained, was also responsible for the recent Forex policy of February 21, 2017, that efficaciously narrowed the premium between the parallel and official rates and made forex more available.

    “In addition we encouraged our members to key-in to the economic diversification and backward integration initiatives which have been successful as the sector was able to upscale its local raw-materials utilisation of 46.3 per cent from first half of 2016, and the second half of 58.98 per cent. Consequently, capacity utilisation increased from 44.3 per cent in first half of 2016 to 59.18 per cent in the second half,” he explained.

    Jacob also revealed that to survive the period, members were encouraged to continue to adopt best practices; engage in backward integration programmes; adopt the principles of lean manufacturing, curb wastages and deploy potent survival strategies to stay afloat till the recession receded. But apart from MAN advocacy in that period, the doggedness and resilience of its members also ensured that production in the sector was sustained notwithstanding the severity of the operating challenges in the period.

    The MAN boss is thankful that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) exchange rate policy in the period, especially recently, has been efficacious as it stabilised forex market by  narrowing the premium between  the  parallel and official markets rates and making forex more available in the economy, which was a boost for manufacturing.

    For the informal sector operators, it was also a time to look inwards. A generator technician in Akute, Ogun State, Lanre Ojo, revealed that he had to concentrate and further cultivate his clients to survive the period. This, he did, by constantly checking on them and reminding them that their generator was due for routine servicing. His situation was further bolstered by the unstable power supply, which made it compulsory to keep generating sets in top notch conditions.

    “The situation was tight; generator usage became restricted to specific hours and to take care of necessities in spite of the fact that electricity was unstable. But I also needed to feed my family, so I was always in touch with my clients, reminding them of the huge cost of fixing a broken down generator and the need for the routine maintenance, that was my strategy,” Ojo explained.

    It will be recalled that the Nigerian economy plunged into recession in August 2016 with the NBS announcing that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declined by 2.06 per cent in the second quarter of 2016.  It further contracted to -0.36 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared to 2.11 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2015. The economy was also badly hit with unemployment rate high at 12.1 per cent; exports dipped by 34.6 per cent while imports declined by 7.8 per cent in the first quarter of 2016. The headline inflation index for the month of June 2016 was put at 16.5 per cent which is the highest in 11 years.

    The report, however, revealed that macroeconomic prospects have improved. As the International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecasts real GDP growth to almost double this year in Sub-Saharan Africa, reaching 2.6 percent, while fiscal and current account deficits are expected to have peaked at 4.5 percent and 4 percent last year, respectively. Key drivers supporting the outlook include rising global growth and trade, a modest recovery in energy and base metal prices, more competitive exchange rates for African currencies, and structural reforms in a range of countries.

    However, after recording contractions for five consecutive quarters, the economy bounced back with a marginal growth of 0.55 per cent in the second quarter of 2017.

  • Recession: Exit, result of Buhari’s hardwork – Adesina

    Recession: Exit, result of Buhari’s hardwork – Adesina

    The Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, said on Tuesday that Nigeria’s exit from economic recession is a clear testimony that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is working for the progress and prosperity of all Nigerians.

    He made the remark in Abuja while addressing a solidarity rally organized for the Federal Government by the Centre for Civil Society and Justice.

    Adesina said: “You have chosen a very auspicious day for this solidarity rally. Earlier today, we were told that Nigeria had officially exited recession.

    “That shows that we have a government that is working for us. We have a government that is interested in our welfare. We have a government that is interested in our well-being.

    “Recession came due to some mistakes of the past and in just about a year, the government battled it and today we are officially out of recession and we give all glory to God.’’

    Adesina assured the rally that he would relay their message of support and solidarity on the unity of Nigeria to the President.

    “You know the President swore to uphold the Constitution and the Constitution recognises Nigeria as one indissoluble entity.

    “The President has sworn to keep the unity of the country and whatever it takes; he will keep to that pledge,’’ Adesina added.

    The presidential aide advised those ‘‘beating the drums of separation’’ to keep their peace, adding that the present government is resolute to preserve the unity, cohesion and togetherness of Nigeria.

     

  • Recession: Economist warns against laxity in implementation of policies

    Recession: Economist warns against laxity in implementation of policies

    An Economist, Prof. Chika Aliyu, has warned stakeholders and players in the economy against laxity in implementing the economic plans and policies to get the country out of recession.

    Aliyu, a researcher in Development Economics at Usman Dan Fodio University, Sokoto,  gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Monday.

    He said stakeholders should be focused in implementing the Economy Recovery and Growth Plan.

    “If there is strong determination, real implementation of the outlined strategies and more economic measures; the country will be out of the recession soon.

    “The time frame fixed can be maintained but if there is any laxity and lukewarm attitude from all stakeholders and players, then the period is likely to go beyond already projected time frame.

    “Our Monetary Policy Committee has to come up with policies to re-strategise the economy.’’
    Aliyu said that the Federal Government should do more to diversify the economy, especially in agriculture and other key sectors.

    “We are in rainy season; people should go into farming, government should inject money and empower people to farm.

    “The more people go into agriculture, the rate of growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will definitely rise and the economy will be out of recession,’’ he said.

    The don, however, said that the recently released GDP report for the first quarter of 2017 had a lot of implication on the economy.

    The National Bureau of Statistics said the nation’s GDP contracted by -0.52 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in the first quarter.

    The bureau stated that it represented the fifth consecutive quarter of contraction since first quarter of 2016.

    “This has a lot of implication on the economy;  if the recession is on short term, the economy will be picking and correcting itself.

    “It will be picking up and correct itself at least, first quarter, second and up to third quarter, we will be out of recession,’’ he said.

    Aliyu said that what the economy showed now was that more needed to be done because contraction in the GDP indicated that domestic productivity was going down.
    “ The economy is in need of more of diversification; we should turn away from oil and concentrate more on the productivity sector.

    “People should be doing well in other sectors like agriculture, mining, tourism, recreation activities and any area that is productive.

    “If the GDP is improving; economy is recovering very well and speedily, it will stabilise in the near future.
    “It will stabilise in future but if it is reversing and going back; this is not good for the economy.

    “It signals that more needs to be done and the areas already projected for the recession to end may spill over and go beyond the time limit already projected,’’ he said.

     

  • UN seeks urgent action on children starvation   

    UN seeks urgent action on children starvation   

    The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is calling for an urgent action from the Federal Government to implement necessary policies that will reduce starvation among children in the north east region of the country.

    UNDP Country Representative, Edward Kallon made the call Tuesday at the unveiling of 2016 Global Human Development Report, held in Abuja.

    The report shows that between 2005 and 2015, Nigeria’s Human Development Index (HDI) increased from 0.466 to 0.527 – a 13.1 percent increase.

    Kallon said though the current administration has made significant contributions but emphasized need to intensify efforts as 8.5 million people are in urgent humanitarian need while another 50, 000 children are severely short of food.

    He said: “We are all aware of the humanitarian crisis in the North-East of the country and the looming famine in that region. Although efforts by humanitarian development actors, under the leadership of the Government have yielded significant results, many challenges remain as an estimated 8.5 million people in that region are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance; over 5 million remain food insecure; and some 50,000 children are at IPC level 5 of food insecurity. The need for action, especially for the children, couldn’t be more urgent.”

    The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a set of standardized tools that aims at providing a common currency for classifying the severity and magnitude of food insecurity. The evidence-based approach uses an international standard which allow comparability of situations across countries and over time.

    “As the UN’s lead agency with a mandate to eradicate poverty, and promote sustainable human development everywhere, here in Nigeria, UNDP has produced several NHDR focusing on various issues defining development in Africa’s largest economy. These reports continue to shape policy interventions and public debate around many development issues affecting millions of people in the country,” he added.

    According to Kallon, the report launch was timely considering major challenges such as economic recession and humanitarian crisis confronting the country.

    He noted that even though the global under-five mortality rate had reduced between 1990 and 2015, with the sharpest decline being registered in sub-Sahara Africa and extended life expectancy by six years, the fall in the global prices of major export commodities such as iron ore, copper, crude oil, gold, cotton and cocoa since late 2014 has affected human development.

    However, the UN representative called for the development of ‘tough policies’ to address economic recession and humanitarian crisis in the country.

    “Economic growth is necessary but not sufficient condition for human development; it is possible to achieve high levels of human development even with modest levels of growth. What matters is the source and spread of growth; and how growth is managed and distributed for the benefit of everyone.

    “Addressing the twin problems of economic recession and humanitarian crisis facing the country calls for tough policy choices. We should utilize the opportunity provided by the national launch of this report to promote policy dialogue, at both national and sub-national levels, to enrich on-going programmes aimed at implementing the economic recovery and growth plan, the SDGs and Africa Union’s Agenda 2063 to ensure that human development is realized for everyone and that no one is left behind,” he said.

     

  • Union urges workers to support FG to tackle economic recession

    Mr Isah Aremu, General Secretary, National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria has asked Nigerian workers to support the Federal Government in its determination to tackle the current economic recession.

    Aremu made the call in Kano on Saturday at a One-Day Interactive session with labour leaders on measures taken by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to ensure stability in the Financial System and Economy.
    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the session was organised by the Corporate Communications Department of CBN to promote financial and economic literacy of participants.

    “As comrades, we must support the present administration under the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari to sanitise the economy as well as in the fight against corruption.

    “We need to support the government in its anti-corruption crusade, because we need the recovered looted funds to develop the country, “he said.

    He also said there was need for the Nigerian workers to continue to support the administration in view of the achievements it recorded, especially in the fight against insecurity and corruption.

    “The Federal Government has done well in the fight against corruption, even though corruption is fighting back.

    ‘’This is the President that has zero tolerance for corruption because even the thieves are afraid of their loots’’.

    He commended the Federal Government for restoring peace and security, especially in the North-East region in addition to launching of Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP).

    “This government has three major programmes which include fighting corruption, insurgency and to improve the economy.

    “The government has commendably tackled security challenges and corruption and is trying to sanitise the economy.

    He also commended the apex bank for initiating the programme and expressed optimism that it would enable labour leaders understand and members enlightened on the monetary policy of the government.

    In his remarks, the Acting Director, CBN Corporate Communications Department, Mr John
    Attah, said the programme was organised to inform participants about the monetary policy of the Bank and measures taken by it to ensure financial system stability.

    “We also want participants to appreciate the rationale for the policy measures and their benefits for national development, ‘’he said.

    NAN reports that various representatives of the organised labour in the state attended the event

  • Recession: FG advised to priotise industrialisation

    A university don, Prof. (Mrs.), Funke Olagunju, has charged the Federal Government to prioritise industrialization if the country must get out of the economic recession.

    She maintained that Nigeria has the potentials to be an economic giant but warned that no effort must be spared in building industries to fortify the national economy.

    Speaking at the 13th Annual Regional Conference of Nigerian Institute of Surveyor (Women in Surveying), the senior lecturer at the Department of Agricultural Economics in Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso, Oyo State, said building of industries would create employment opportunities for many youths.

    Apart from building industries, Olagunju appealed to the government increase expenditure on skill acquisition.

    Describing women as significant elements in socio-economic rejuvenation, she said it was imperative for the government to build a capacity that would facilitate mass participation of women in national growth and development.

    In her paper titled “Economic Recession in Nigeria and the Building Industry: Issues and Options for Future,’’ Olagunju called for overhaul review of government’s policies and programmes.

    She said the nation has reached a state where government policies must align with citizens’ needs and aspirations.

    Identifying poor leadership as bane of development in Nigeria, the university implored Nigerians to inculcate the spirit of patriotism and reflect the good virtues in all they do.

    She said: “Economic recession is not religion or moral based. It did not happen over-night, it comes with periodic economic symptoms and statistics that warn the economic team of the nation.

    “Accumulation of debt servicing especially foreign debts, fall in aggregate demand, fall in wages, income, mass unemployment and general loss of confidence on the government, lack of visionary leaders, poor economic planning, high inflation rate, high interest rate, high taxation, policy conflict, poor management of resources, corruption and over-reliance on importation of goods and services are responsible for the current economic woes.

    “To ameliorate this pocket of challenges, then, unemployed people must see the need to accept a low paying job as a short term or part time job, business or small scale farming, change of plans and as well making changes in financial spending, life style, business opportunities through positive attitude.”

    Earlier, the National Coordinator, the Nigerian Institute of Surveyors, Mrs. Funke Adekunle, said  to secure vibrant and dynamic economy, all the sectors of economy must be given due attention with the building of industry as priority.

    She said the current economic situation must drive the nation to industrialise and promite science and technology.

    According to her: “When governments embark on construction, more people would be engaged as this gesture would help the nation to wave her present economic impasse behind.”

     

  • Economic recession: More people patronise sports betting

    Sports betting and lottery operators said on Monday that they were experiencing boost in their businesses as more people now patronise them.

    Some of the betting operators disclosed this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

    NAN reports that sport betting is the activity of predicting sports’ results and placing a stake on the outcome.

    Mr Chinedu Opara, who manages a BET9JA outlet in Karu, FCT, told NAN that the recession in the country has made the lottery business, particularly that of sports to thrive in the last one year.

    He explained that people are attracted to the scheme now because they want to multiply or increase the money they have through betting.

    “We have experienced more patronage since last year, many people now buy tickets and we have tickets as low as N100.

    “For example, labourers who get daily pay of 1, 500, will want to play the game of N100 or N200 to make more money for themselves.

    “Most times, we have up to two hundred customers for a particular game and maybe just two of them stand a chance of winning,” he said.

    Opara, however, encouraged more Nigerians to play the game and boost economic development in the country, stating that the game was for all Nigerians irrespective of class or status.

    He stressed that the scheme was interesting, educating and enlightening as many people are now aware of football and the benefits of lottery.

    Also, Mr Usman Negedu, Manager, NairaBet said that Nigerians were eager to boost their income these days through sports betting.

    According to him, the scarcity of money in the country has motivated more people to focus on betting.

    “Recession has doubled the amount of subscribers on the betting network; more and more people keep logging onto our websites and registering to bet.

    “Scarcity of money has made lots of people focus more on betting, and the tickets and internet they use generate money for us’’, he said.

    However, Mr Jerry Ubong, a customer, told NAN that the game was a risky one, but most times pay the bills if you are lucky to win, adding that it is a give and take scheme.

    He noted that the risk was worth taking as the game is cheap and affordable depending on your ability.

    Ubong told NAN that engaging in the game will improve someone’s intellect as it is brain tasking that requires lots of calculation.

    He added that the scheme was providing jobs for the unemployed youths in the country, saying that the business was rapidly expanding and spreading in the country.

  • Ekweremadu seeks chambers of commerce support to end recession

    Ekweremadu seeks chambers of commerce support to end recession

    Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, Thursday asked the Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture in the country to look inwards and come out with innovations that will help move the country out of economic recession.

    Ekweremadu expressed the readiness of the National Assembly to provide adequate legislative structure to move the economy out of recession and help to ease the sufferings of Nigerians.

    A statement by the Special Adviser (media) to the Deputy Senate President, Uche Anichukwu, said that Ekweremadu spoke when he received a delegation from the Enugu Chamber of Commerce, which was on a working visit to his Office at the National Assembly ahead of the forthcoming 28th Enugu International Trade Fair.

    Ekweremadu was quoted to have said that “the situation we have found ourselves now as a country is such that we are the only people who can save ourselves”.

    He emphasised the need for government agencies and the private sector to work together to diversify the nation’s economy to provide alternative sources of income other than oil.

    He said: “The 28th Enugu Trade Fair could not have come at a better time in the history of our country than now that we are in recession and most of our friends are turning their backs on us. Some are moving their industries and businesses out of Nigeria; and investors are no longer confident in our system.

    “So, this is time for all of us, particularly the various Chambers of Commerce to look inwards to be able to provide for ourselves those things, which we had expected others to provide or do for us”.

    Senator Ekweremadu said only economic diversification, propelled by fiscal federalism and initiatives by the various Chambers of Commerce could take the country out of the woods, permanently.

    Ekweremadu added: “Economic diversification is primarily about the areas the Chambers of Commerce focus on, namely, commerce, industry as well as mines and agriculture.

    “Every part of Nigeria has abundant mineral resources that can sustain each state and the development of the mines sector must be encouraged to boast non-oil revenues. That is also where fiscal federalism comes in so that we can stop bottle-feeding the states.

    “The agricultural sector and commerce also hold much potential for this country. Commerce is essentially what has given Nigeria an edge over others because while others focus on big businesses, we have small businesses all over Nigeria that are easily set up and employ small numbers but cumulatively massive numbers”.

    The Deputy President of the Senate also emphasised the need for government-private sector initiative to reboot the industrial sector to boost productivity, grow the nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and generate employment “instead of spending scarce resources to import what could be manufactured in our country”.

    He assured that the National Assembly would look into the completion of the Enugu Trade Fair Complex as obtains in Lagos and Kaduna.

    Leader of the delegation and President, Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Ugochukwu Chime, said the successful hosting of the Enugu trade fair would go a long way to provide the needed buffer for the nation’s recessed economy, and engender growth and prosperity across board for Nigeria.

    Chime also commended the National Assembly, especially the Senate for its emphasis on made-in-Nigeria goods and urged the National Assembly to appropriate funds for the completion of the Enugu Trade Fair Complex.

  • Reps bemoan economic situation 

    Reps bemoan economic situation 

    The House of Representatives has said the prevailing economic situation is unacceptable and has given a three-month deadline for a reversal of the situation.

    As a consequence, the House has mandated an ad hoc Committee to interact with relevant stakeholders in public and private sectors to ensure a reversal of the prevailing recession within three months.

    The lawmakers however absolved themselves of blames on the economic crisis confronting the country, notwithstanding that the legislature is part of government.

    While inaugurating the Wole Ayorinde-led tactical committee on economic recession Tuesday, Speaker Yakubu Dogara said the House could no longer stand aloof and watch the situation gets worse considering the report of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that stated that economic recession is already with the country.

    “The double quarters of negative growth, High levels 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 citizen. There is general anguish on the faces of Nigerians due to poverty and hunger.

    “We cannot however, 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 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”.

    Chairman of the 16-member committee, Wole Ayorinde (APC, Ondo) however said the impact of the committee will be felt immediately by Nigerians

    According to him; the recommendations of the committee would be implemented by relevant stakeholders immediately interactions are concluded with the Committee.

    He said: “This is not a talk shop, we will look into the free fall of naira and in the next three months, we shall see whether how much we can go with our interaction with relevant agencies to ensure that the current foreign exchange will not fall beyond that but improve before the end of the tenure of our committee. That is what we are going to work towards.

    “The outcome of the activities of this Committee will be implemented as we are working. If we interact with the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) for instance and we agreed on certain things within the constitutional mandates of the Customs, as we are leaving they are implementing because they will want to be seen to be jointly working together to rescue the economy.

    “They won’t wait for the report of the Committee; we will start feeling the impact of the committee as we swing into action.

    “If we have interaction with the governor of Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN ) and we agreed on certain measures to arrest the free fall of the naira before we leave that place, the CBN governor would start to implement our recommendations.

    “This not a talk shop, this Committee is not a study group but to join hands with relevant agencies to put in place policies that will quickly return our economy to the path of stability, growth and development”.

    When asked if the setting of the committee was not an apology and an admittance of failure of the National Assembly to properly oversight Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDA) before the country went into recession, Ayorinde said the legislators cannot be blamed.

    “We are not apologising because we have not done anything wrong.

    “In the exercise of our mandate in the House, we have done that which the constitution provided for the House to do.

    “We are also not apportioning blame, what we have done as a responsive and responsible House is to feel the pain of Nigerians and rise to the occasion to join hands with the executive so as to quickly bring back smiles into the faces of Nigerians,” he said.