Senate invites Buhari on economy

The National Assembly has passed a motion to invite President Muhammadu Buhari to address the legislature on efforts being made by his administration to tackle the economic recession.

The Senate on Thursday passed the motion in concurrence with the House of Representatives, which had earlier on September 22, 2016 resolved to constitute an ad hoc committee to liaise with the Upper Chamber, with a view to inviting the President to brief a joint session of the National Assembly on the current economic downturn.

The motion states, “That the Senate concurs with the House of Representatives’ resolution passed on Thursday, 22nd of September, 2016, to wit: to invite the President and Commander-in-Chief to address a joint session of the National Assembly to intimate it on plans to get the country out of the recession to enable the House to take further legislative action.”

The Senate unanimously passed the motion when its president, Senator Bukola Saraki, took the vote.

The National Assembly is expected to communicate the invitation to the President officially.

The House took the decision following a motion by a member, Olayiwola Kazzim (All Progressives Congress/Ogun State) and entitled, ‘Urgent need to address the economic downturn in Nigeria.’

The Representatives, after a two-hour debate by about 30 lawmakers on the recession, agreed that Buhari should brief the legislature on the efforts of his administration to take the country out of theconomic crisis.

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Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, had urged Buhari to convene an emergency economic conference.

The House also called for a review of the existing monetary policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria, the Federal Ministry of Finance and the National Planning Commission.

This, the lawmakers said, would aid the development of sustainable lending rates and right environment that would foster real sector growth.

The Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, had appeared before the Senate in July 2016, where Adeosun announced that the country was “technically” in recession