The Honorable Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun on Thursday, July
21, 2016 appeared before the Upper Legislative Chamber to shed light on
the Monetary/ Fiscal Policies adopted to salvage the current situation
in Nigeria.
Addressing the Senate, the Minister hinted
that the country’s economy is in a difficult situation as a result of
decline in the price of oil globally which she said has at a time
plunged to as low as 27 dollar per barrel.
The
Minister asserted that the government intends to change the direction of
the nation’s economy from oil driven to agriculture, citing that the
country hitherto produces 2.2 million barrels of crude oil per day and
has a population of 170 million people compared to Saudi Arabia that
produces 9.9 million barrels per day with much less population but the
current global recession especially in the oil and gas sector has forced
a decline in oil and gas output.
The Minister
also disclosed that the nation is faced with the burden of high Overhead
Cost which affects the execution of Capital Projects, stressing that
ultimately, the government has been strategic in its spending; stating
that about N79 billion has been spent on road construction and N21.6
billion on agriculture which the government hopes to make the mainstay
of the economy if given the desired attention.
On
infrastructure, the Minister revealed that government is working very
hard to complete inherited projects like those in the railway, road,
power, health and other sectors. She however noted that a stable oil
price will help boost the nation’s foreign exchange, coupled with the
effort of Federal Inland Revenue Services (FIRS) and the Nigeria Customs
Service (NCS) whose revenue generation are still stable even with the
dwindling economy.
The Finance Minister averred
that Nigeria has an incredible bright future if it fully harnesses the
potentials in agriculture which can create employment opportunities for
the youths, generate wealth for the people, save foreign exchange for
the country, improve the economy and reduce importation of food items
into Nigeria and feed citizens. In fact, the sector would generate
revenue for government to undertake infrastructural development she
said.
Nevertheless, the Minister called on the
National Assembly to do all it can to revisit the country’s Procurement
Law with a view to make it vibrant and address contemporary challenges
of Nigeria.
Senators asked questions on the
economy, infrastructure, budget implementation, the crises in the Niger
Delta, constituency projects, economic recession and more to which the
Minister responded satisfactorily after which she was told to take a bow
and leave.
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