* Tasks FG On Leadership, Not Blame Game
Senate
President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, on Tuesday backed calls for the Federal
Government to sale some of the nation’s strategic investment assets to free up
funds and inject liquidity into the system, thereby ameliorating the current
spate of suffering in the land.
In an address to
welcome senators who resumed after an eight-week annual recess, Saraki said the
task at hand today is how “to put an end to this suffering,” which he stressed,
“is becoming unbearable.”
He listed asset
that can be sold for immediate funds to shore up foreign reserves, thereby
calming investors and discouraging currency speculation while stabilizing the
economy to include part of the Federal Government’s stake in the Nigerian
Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
Others are a
“reduction of government share in upstream oil joint venture operations; sale
of government stake in financial institutions e.g. Africa Finance Corporation;
and the privatization and concession of major/regional airports and
refineries.”
“The Executive must
consider tweaking the pension funds policy within international best practice
safeguards to accommodate investment in infrastructure and mortgages,” the just
as the Abuja and the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) “must agree on a policy of
monetary easing to stimulate the economy and harmonise monetary and fiscal
policy until economic recovery is attained. We must ensure local government
borrowing does not crowd out credit for the private sector.”
The Senate
President also urged the Federal Government ”to engage in meaningful dialogue
with those aggrieved in the Niger Delta and avoid an escalation of the conflict
in the region. The National Assembly is very ready to play any role in the
process and offer ideas on approaches that will deliver quick win-win in order
to move the region and the economy forward.”
There is also the
need, he continued, “as a deliberate response, consider immediate release of
funds to ensure the implementation of the budget for the near short term to
inject money into the economy.”
Saraki’s speech is reproduced here:
WELCOME BACK SPEECH
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA, HIS EXCELLENCY,
SENATOR (DR) ABUBAKAR BUKOLA SARAKI (CON) TO SENATORS OF THE 8TH SENATE ON
RESUMPTION FROM A SENATE ANNUAL RECESS ON TUESDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER, 2016.
Protocol:
1. Distinguished
colleagues, I am greatly pleased to welcome you back to the hallowed Chamber of
the Senate after our annual recess. To our Muslim colleagues, I wish you all
Eid Mubarak.
2. I hope that the
recess has afforded us the opportunity to reconnect with our constituencies and
to reflect on the great task that lies ahead of us.
3. During this year's
Sallah as it is my tradition, I had close interaction with a cross section of
my people in Kwara Central including, the aged, youths, market women, and
leaders of thought. I believe many of you did the same. I recall unforgettably,
how one of the women came straight to me with a look of utter desperation and
all she could mutter out was, please our Senator, do what you can to put an end
to this suffering, it is becoming unbearable. I don’t know what your experience
was, but if your experience mirrored mine, then the challenge before us could
not have been made clearer. The words of this woman reverberated across the
hall with such unison that it was impossible to under estimate the desperation
in the land. In the last couple of days, I have interacted with many of you
here, and it has become even clearer to me that the situation is virtually the
same all across the country.
4. During my
interaction which I described above, I remember trying to explain to my people
that this kind of thing does not happen overnight; that the seeds for the
condition that we suffer from today must have been planted by past
administrations that refused to do what was necessary. However, I soon realized
that my people are not so interested in how we got here or who to blame for our
current situation. They only wanted to know that government has plans to get
them out of this current predicament. To them, the only explanation that makes
sense at the moment is that which puts food on the table, reduces price of
rice, garri, salt, sugar, meat and saves jobs.
5. Yes, the collapse
in oil prices from over $100 per barrel to about $48 recently meant the
Nigerian economy would experience serious challenges. However, low sovereign
savings have compounded our situation with FX reserves having declined from
over $65bn in 2007 to about $30bn by 2015. The implications of this is that we
must do something drastic and quick to restore confidence back into the economy
and get people investing and spending again if we are to end the despair in the
land.
6. It is no longer
news, that the National Bureau of Statistics confirmed that the Nigerian
economy has drifted into recession. With GDP growth in the second quarter of
2016 at -2.06% following a decline of 0.36% in the first quarter, the Nigerian
economy has had two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.
7. It is clear to
me that when people are desperately hungry, what they need is leadership with a
clear vision; leadership whose daily actions reflects the very urgency of the
people’s condition. Therefore, our response to the current challenge must be
dictated by the urgency of the hardship that the people suffer on a daily
basis. I say this to urge us that we must have an urgent debate on the way
forward. But in having this debate we must resist the temptation of drowning
the debate with apportioning blames that will neither bring solutions to the
problem or reduce the cost of rice, maize or oil in the market. Rather this
debate must be solution driven, it must be people oriented and less political.
8. Distinguished
colleagues, the simple question for our debate must be; how do we tame the
widespread hunger in the land? How do we save our businesses from collapse? How
do we save jobs for the majority and create even a lot more? Only a few months
ago, Naira was exchanging to the dollar at 200; today it is approaching 500.
How do we arrest this drift so that our businesses can compete and our children
can go to school wherever they may find opportunities? These and many more are
questions in desperate need for answers. Unfortunately, the answers to all
these questions are not easy. But we must ask them all the same. Because these
are the questions Nigerians are asking and, they need us to justify our
leadership by providing answers to them.
9. However, even as
desperate as our people may be for solution, I did not feel that what they
expect from us is a miracle. I believe what they want to see is that as
leaders, all our hands are on the deck. They don’t care about our politics;
they don’t care about our political affiliations; they don’t care if we are APC
OR PDP; north or south. What they want is for us to lead the way out of this
crisis and deliver on the promises that we made to them.
10. Distinguished
colleagues, though the outlook is not cheer-inspiring, however, in the midst of
this dire situation, I bring you good news, not fear. I bring a message of hope
not despair, because once again, Nigeria shall overcome. Let no one write us
off. We have done it before we will do it again. The world has come to know
Nigeria as a people who have formed a habit of proving naysayers wrong and
turning adversity into triumph.
11. Many times
experts have quipped Nigeria is finished, but we come back stronger. This
occasion will not be any different. But it will not happen by a slogan! No, it
will take positive leadership and unity. Never in our history has the need to
show leadership and unity been more acute, more urgent than now. We cannot
afford to play politics with our current situation. As a parliament we are in
this together with the Executive and the Judiciary, we cannot afford to fail
Nigerians.
12. My expectation
is that by the time we are done with our debate we should make key actionable
recommendations to the Executive on what this chamber sees as the way forward
in the immediate, midterm and long term solutions to this economic situation.
And as representatives of our people we must follow up through regular
oversight and pressure on the Executive to ensure that they deliver on our
recommendations. On our path however, we are ready to pass the legislative
measures that will facilitate our quick exit from this recession.
13. We will work in
concert, not at cross-purposes. Our goal is clear; to work together with the
Executive to get our economy out of recession. We will proffer our solutions on
policy issues, and where necessary enact necessary legislation to ensure that
investor confidence returns to the market.
14. We have already
made inroads in this regard with the passage of some the key priority
legislation necessary to get us out of this mess; including, the Procurement
Act (Amendment) Bill, The Electronic Transactions Bill, The Railway Bill, The
Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (Amendment) Bill and The Commercial Agriculture
Credit Scheme Bill,
15. Distinguished
colleagues let me also state clearly that we shall not hide under the cloak of
partisan solidarity to abdicate our constitutional responsibility under the
principles of checks and balances. We shall make critical interventions
whenever they become necessary and undertake emergency actions whenever they
are required, within the confines of the constitution. The task at hand
requires us to take tough decisions and do all that is necessary to dig our
economy out of this recession. This imperative must take precedence over
partisan loyalty. This is what the people expect of us and it is the only way
we can continue to justify our presence here.
16. As I had
mentioned earlier, on our part we will do the following;
Go immediately to
debate the state of the economy and come up with economic measures that we will
submit to the Executive. This we will do along with passing the necessary
legislation we have identified.
I must hasten to
add in my own opinion that the Executive must begin to take the following
needful steps to show Nigerians, the international community and investors both
local and international that we are ready to reform and do business. These are
I. The Executive
must immediately put in place leadership-level engagement platform with the
private sector. This must be one that is pro-business and shows unequivocally
that government is ready to partner with the private sector towards economic
revival. This is a critical signpost towards market confidence which is a key
ingredient to help us revamp the economy out of recession
II. The Executive
mist raise capital from asset sales and other sources to shore up foreign
reserves. This will calm investors, discourage currency speculation and
stabilize the economy. The measures should include part sale of NLNG Holdings;
reduction of government share in upstream oil joint venture operations; sale of
government stake in financial institutions e.g. Africa Finance Corporation; and
the privatization and concession of major/regional airports and refineries.
III. The Executive
must consider tweaking the pension funds policy within international best
practice safeguards to to accommodate investment in infrastructure and
mortgages.
IV. The Executive
and CBN must agree on a policy of monetary easing to stimulate the economy and
harmonise monetary and fiscal policy until economic recovery is attained. We
must ensure local government borrowing does not crowd out credit for the
private sector.
V. The Executive
must retool its export promotion policy scheme with export incentives such as
the resumption of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG); and introduce
export-financing initiatives.
VI. The Executive
is urged to engage in meaningful dialogue with those aggrieved in the Niger
Delta and avoid an escalation of the conflict in the region. The National
Assembly is very ready to play any role in the process and offer ideas on
approaches that will deliver quick win-win in order to move the region and the
economy forward.
VII. The Executive
must as a deliberate response consider immediate release of funds to ensure the
implementation of the budget for the near short term to inject money into the
economy.
VIII. Similarly,
the agricultural sector and the agro-allied businesses should be directly
supported to boost value addition and job creation.
IX. While
government works on the medium to long-term plans, immediate strategies must be
devised that would ease the suffering of the ordinary people across our
country. In this case particular attention should be given to our citizens in
IDP camps. The images emerging from this zone of deprivation and hunger is no
longer acceptable. Government should accelerate interim measures to provide
social safety-nets to our people and assuage current high levels of misery in
the land. Such intervention should seek to fully execute the social spending
framework already provided in the 2016 budget.
X. Distinguished
colleagues, on our own part, we must turn our attention towards a number of
legislative priorities such as the Petroleum Industry Bills. We must ensure the
passage of the PIB as soon as possible to stimulate new investment and boost
oil revenue. As we all know, this bill is long in waiting and is very crucial
for vital investment in the oil and gas sector. The impasse of not passing the
bill is doing great harm to the industry and the Nigerian economy as a whole.
XI. Mortgages
remain key for us in the National Assembly and we will immediately begin the
process of accelerating bills aimed at reforming the subsector for growth and
accessibility in a manner that deepens our peoples access to housing, jobs and
economic activities that can inject fresh funds into this sector.
XII. There is the
National Development Bank of Nigeria (est. etc) Bill 2015, which will provide
long term, cheaper source of funds to the private sector.
XIII. There are
also the Nigerian Ports and Harbours Authority Act (Amendment) Bill 2016;
National Road Fund (Establishment, etc); National Transport Commission Act
2001; Warehouse Receipts Act Bill 2016; Review of the Companies and Allied
Matters Act (CAMA), Investment and Securities Act (ISA) and Customs and Excise
Management Act; Federal Competition Bill 2016; and the National Road Authority.
In my view, these bills and some of the other economic reform bills we will be
considering in the coming days will be critical in the creation of a basic
framework to free up capital and provide the opportunities to get us out of
this recession.
XIV. We must also
explore the possibility of backing certain key government policies with
legislations that have time limitations. This will help giver confidence to
investors to go into certain areas of the economy and invest without the fear
that such policies will suffer reversals and their investments lost. This is
especially important in boosting investment in agriculture and minerals; which
are critical segments of the new diversified Nigerian economy.
19 This chamber is
ready to receive and consider expeditiously any additional proposals from the
Executive to create a new Nigerian economy and get us out of this recession as
quickly as possible
20 Distinguished
colleagues, I must at the point like to re-emphasis the fact that we need
togetherness to tackle this problem and it will be naïve to consider the
problem we face today as the problem of the administration alone, or that those
who brought us to this situation should see us out, that would be doing a
disservice to our people who elected us to help them out when they are in need.
This problem is our collective problem. It doesn’t matter if we are APC, PDP,
or whatever affiliation we may have politically or socially. As leaders we must
respond positively to the challenge and thinking out of the box. Hence, we
cannot allow our personal interest or comfort to becloud our perception. I do
not think anybody in this chamber has gone through more political persecution
than myself since the inception of this government, but I will be the last to
fold my arms and say that the current economic problem is not my problem. No,
it is.
21 So my dear
colleagues, I remain humbled by your unflinching support and solidarity to my
leadership. I, today once more seek that support, if you believe in my
leadership as have always shown, this is the time to follow me further for the
sake of our beloved country do what is necessary to ease the pain of our people
by working with the Executive to get us out of this situation.
22 Distinguished
Colleagues, ladies and gentlemen. Let me conclude this address by reaffirming
my belief that while we face a grim present and an uncertain future, we have
within our country, the capacity to make this the shortest recession in our
history. I have no doubt that Nigeria shall rise again.
23 I remember
during my Sallah interactive session a young student said to me that he had
lost hope in the possibility of a promising future for the youth in Nigeria.
This made me realize the weight of our responsibility to get us out of this
recession and give hope to our teeming youth who are looking up to us in this
Senate. We cannot afford to fail this generation.
24 In this vein, I
must urge you my colleagues, that it is time to think outside the box and
outside the comfort zone and make immense sacrifices to pursue ways to fast
track or passage of bills. We will be relying on your courage, bipartisan
spirit, endurance, personality, long hours of plenary sitting that could
sometime last into the night if necessary, diligent oversight and prompt
committee reporting. These are some of the ways we must use to show that we are
ready to lead by example in defense of our national economy. In the same token,
we may have to fast track some of this bills as the exigencies of the time
demand in order to avoid anything being in the way of our progress out of
recession
25 Distinguished
colleagues, we cannot afford further distraction and fixation to politics that
would not and does not add food on the table of our people, or add one mega
watt of electricity to our grid. Everywhere you go there is hunger in our land
and our people want solutions to their problems.
26 My distinguished
colleagues, I believe we can make the recession we face today the shortest in
our history and use the lessons coming out of it to consolidate our
development. But it all starts now if we all can believe.
Thank you for your
attention and God bless Nigeria.
Sen. (Dr.) Bukola
Saraki (CON)
President of the
Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Source: Independent
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