…Says Nigeria will exit recession by 2018
Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki has assured Nigerians that the National Assembly has no plans to increase prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) which currently sells for N145.
The Senate President stated this on Sunday in an interview with newsmen in Ilorin, Kwara State while highlighting the landmark achievements of the 8th Senate under his (Saraki’s) leadership.
Saraki added that the passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill was another landmark in the Senate.
He clarified that the proposed National Road Fund Bill would not lead to an increase in the current pump prices of fuel in the country.
Saraki stated, “Our roads around the country are not adequately funded. If we are banking on the appropriation process, we will not be able to adequately fund and refurbish our roads.
“Anybody that read the full report would have known that after the public hearing, which involved stakeholders from the road and transport industry, it was recommended that N5 from each litre of petrol should be channelled towards our roads.
“However, this is not going to be an additional N5, but N5 out of the present price of N145 that Nigerians are currently paying at the pump.”
The Senate President aligned with the view that the country would be out of recession in the third quarter of this year.
He stated that the Federal Government under President Muhammadu Buhari had made remarkable progress in implementing measures for Nigeria to exit recession.
Saraki said, “I believe that by the next quarter, we should technically go out of recession. I believe that efforts have been put in place to be able to revive our revenues, bring stability to the Niger Delta and restore confidence to the market.
“The Nigerian currency was undervalued when it was about N500 to $1, because people were speculating and not that it was the true value of the naira. Investors lost confidence in the market. This is the first time you see when our currency has depreciated and also appreciated significantly.
“There are investments now coming in. It is even reflected in the capital market. You can see inflows coming in. I see an upward projection in investment coming in and businesses begin to move.”