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Tag: NASS

  • No half truth in allegation that NASS reduced budgets – Fashola tells NASS

    Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola has expressed deep concern over the recourse of the National Assembly’s Spokespersons to name calling over his observations on the 2017 Budget.

    Fashola who made the statement through his Special Adviser on Media, Mr Hakeem Bello, said he was worried that the National Assembly Spokespersons failed to address the fundamental points about development- hindering whimsical cuts in the allocations to several vital projects under the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing as well as other Ministries.

    Fashola had, in a recent interview while acknowledging that Legislators could contribute to budget making, disagreed with the practice where the legislative arm of Government unilaterally alters the Budget after putting members of the Executive through Budget Defence Sessions and Committee Hearings to the extent that some of the projects proposed would have become materially altered.

    While acknowledging the need for legislative input from the representatives of the people to bring forward their developmental aspirations before and during the Budget production process, the Minister had observed that it amounted to a waste of tax payers money and an unnecessary distortion of orderly planning and development for all sections of the country, for lawmakers to unilaterally insert items not under the Exclusive or Concurrent lists of the Constitution like boreholes and streetlights after putting Ministries , Departments and Agencies (MDAs) through the process of Budget Defence.

    Specifically with regards to the Ministry of Power, Works and Housing, Fashola listed the Lagos- Ibadan Expressway, the Bodo- Bonny road, the Kano-Maiduguri road, the Second Niger Bridge and the long drawn Mambilla Hydropower Project among others as those that the National Assembly materially altered the allocations in favour of scores of boreholes and primary health care centres which were never discussed during the Ministerial Budget Defence before Parliament.

    In their responses both the spokespersons of the Senate and the House of Representatives accused the Minister of spreading “Half-Truths” and making “Fallacious “ statements because he (Fashola) should have known that they only interfered with projects that had concession agreements and private sector funding components.

    They also accused the Minister of wanting to hold on to such projects in order that he may continue to award contracts.

    However, while dismissing the allegations in the course of an official trip outside the country, Fashola said it was sad that the lawmakers would resort to name calling even without understanding the facts of what they were getting into. Taking the projects which the lawmakers chose to focus on one after the other, the Minister insisted that there is no subsisting concession agreement on the Lagos – Ibadan Expressway adding that what the Infrastructure Construction Regulatory Commission (ICRC) has is a financing agreement from a consortium of banks which is like a loan that still has to be paid back through budgetary provisions.

    There is no fallacy or half truth in the allegation that the budgets were reduced. The Spokespersons admitted this much and now sought to rationalize it by a concession or financing arrangement that has failed to build the road since 2006. The biggest momentum seen on the road was in 2016.

    In the case of the Second Niger Bridge where one of the Spokespersons alleged that the provision in 2016 budget was not spent and had to be returned, Fashola said that this displays very stark and worrisome gaps in knowledge of the Spokesperson about the budget process he was addressing.

    According to him, a budget is not cash. It is an approval of estimates of expenditure to be financed by cash from the Ministry of Finance.

    The Ministry of Finance has not yet released any cash for the Second Niger Bridge, so no money was returned.

    Three phases of Early Works of piling and foundation was approved and financed by the previous Government in the hope that a concession will finally be issued, which has not happened because concessionaires have not been able to raise finance.

    The continuation of Early Works IV could not start in May 2016 when the budget was passed because of high water level in the River Niger in the rainy season.

    The contract was only approved by the Federal Executive Council in the first quarter of 2017 and the contractor is awaiting payment.

    Dismissing the allegation that the Ministry under him was holding on to projects that could be funded through Public Private Partnerships (PPP) so that he could award contracts as a tissue of lies, the Minister said from Day One of his assumption of office, he made it clear publicly and privately that his priority would be to finish as many of the several hundreds of projects that his Ministry inherited which had not been funded for close to three years.

    According to Fashola, if the Spokesperson was in tune with the Public Procurement Law which the National Assembly passed, he would realize that the Minister has no unilateral power to award such contracts whose values are in Billions of Naira, adding that all the new projects presented to the Federal Executive Council for approval were either Federal roads requested by State Governments or those put in the Budget by the Legislators to service their constituencies.

    Fashola stated that the focus on contracts by the Spokesperson is probably a Freudian slip that reveals his mindset and interests; when indeed he should be focused on Developmental projects that strengthen the economy, which is the focus of the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan endorsed by the legislature.

    Also responding to the issues that the Budget for the Mambila Power Project was slashed because it contained a “ whooping N17 bn” for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), the Minister said there was indeed a mis-description of that particular Expenditure Head which could have happened during the classification of so many thousands of Budget heads in the Budget estimates.

    According to him, what was described as a Budget Head for EIA was actually the nation’s counterpart funding to the China- EXIM loan to fund the building of the Mambila Project , adding that this was brought to his attention only after it had been slashed and that if the intention was not to slash arbitrarily it should have been brought to his attention to explain. “At a joint meeting convened at the instance of the Budget Minister when I complained that the budget was slashed, the issue of EIA was brought to my attention and I explained what it was meant for,” Fashola said.

    On the issue of the N20 Billion provision in the Ministry’s Budget which the Spokesperson alleged that the Minister failed to give details of, Fashola said the Spokesperson is hiding behind a finger.

    The Minister explained that it was a very basic principle of good planning to make provision for unforeseen contingencies adding that in the 2016 Budget , a similar provision enabled the Ministry to respond to the failures of the Tamburawa Bridge in Sokoto, the Ijora Bridge in Lagos and the Gada Hudu Bridge in Koto Karfe along the Abuja – Lokoja Highway. Similarly, the Ministry was able to pay N1BN to the Contractor handling the Suleja to Minna road.

    The recent failures caused by flooding along Tegina-Mokwa-Jebba road and Tatabu in Niger State could not have been provided because they were not foreseen and there may be more. “ This is what good planning is about ,“ Fashola said.

    Noting that the Senate Spokesperson missed the point in the haste to cast aspersions on him because he was not at the meetings he was speaking about, Fashola said he would have expected a more sober approach to the matter. “ In any event, allegations of half truth is only a flawed response to the constitutional and developmental issues that have plagued Nigeria from 1999 about how to budget for the critical infrastructure in Nigeria. It shows the conflict between the Executive that wants to build big Federal Highways; Bridges ; Power Plants; Rail; and Dams on one hand and Parliament that wants to do small things like Bore holes , Health Centres , Street lights and supplying grinding machines ,” he said.

    According to the Minister, being an institutional and not a personal issue, it won’t be out of place to seek a resolution of the conflict at the Supreme Court in order to protect the country’s future, because it is a clear conflict about how best to serve the people.

    “ As long as Budgets planned to deliver life changing infrastructure are cut into small pieces, Nigeria will continue to have small projects that are not life changing , and big projects that have not been completed in 17 years . If a project would cost N15 Billion and the contractor gets only a fraction of that, then things won’t move. Success should be defined by how many projects an administration is able to complete or set on the path of irreversible completion and not how many poorly funded contracts are awarded,” he said.

  • Fashola’s claims on 2017 budget misleading – NASS

    The Senate on Saturday warned Minister of Works, Housing and Power, Mr Babatunde Fashola, to desist from spreading falsehood on the 2017 Budget with regards to projects under his ministry.

    It said that in passing the Appropriation Bill, the legislators worked and applied equity in provision for new and outstanding projects across the country.

    In a statement by its spokesperson, Sen. Sabi Abdullahi, in Abuja, the upper chamber said that Fashola did not give the public details about the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, which was on private finance initiative from beginning.

    It said that Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Federal Executive Council, in 2013, approved the reconstruction, rehabilitation and expansion of the expressway on Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) basis, “using private finance initiative”.

    “The Federal Government provided about 30 per cent of the funding while the balance shall be provided by the private sector.

    “The project was on course for completion by end of 2017 when the private finance initiative was being implemented, with over 30 per cent completion rate attained as at early 2015.

    “But, in a blatant disregard for existing agreements, constituted authorities and extant laws, Fashola on assumption of office, got the government through the ministry to start voting money for the implementation of the project.

    “Even, as at last year, the 2016 Appropriation Act voted N40 billion for the project on the insistence of the ministry and only N26 billion was released.

    “If we had known, the rest N14 billion could have been allocated to other critical roads across the country,” it said.

    It added that due to concerns and in the spirit of consensus-building and effective stakeholder engagement, the leadership of the Senate met with relevant stakeholders, including the Ministries of Works, and Finance.

    According to it, it was agreed that we should give the Private Finance Initiative a chance to complement government’s resources in the delivery of critical infrastructure across the country.

    “Hence, in this year’s budget, we have engaged with the government and private sector groups, who have assured that they will resume funding of the project.

    “So, we only provided the fund in the budget that would ensure that work does not stop before the funds from the private sector start coming in.

    “It is our view that the Federal Government cannot fund the reconstruction and maintenance of all the 34, 000 kilometres of roads under its care,” the senate said.

    It explained that what was necessary was the need for private funds for some of the roads, particularly those with high potential of attracting private investors.

    It said, “With private sector finance initiative, the rehabilitation of the road can be completed on time because full funding will be provided and there will be more certainty.

    “The minister’s statement is in bad taste.”

    The statement said that the National Assembly acted in the national interest to ensure that equity and fairness were achieved in the distribution of projects.

    The senate said that it also ensured that all sections of the country had representation in the national budget as guaranteed by the Constitution.

    Similarly, the House of Representatives said that Fashola peddled “inaccuracies, misleading and calculated mischief” about the 2017 budget.

    In a news conference on Saturday in Abuja, Chairman of Committee on Media and Publicity, Rep. Abdulrazak Namdas, said that the minister’s statement tended to blackmail the National Assembly and set it on a collision with the executive.

    He said that the minister was fixated on matters of power rather than issues that would benefit Nigerians.

    According to Namdas, there was an obvious attempt to blackmail the National Assembly, paint it as an irresponsible institution, one not concerned with the welfare of the people.

    He said that because part of funds allocated to Second Niger Bridge in 2016 was returned at the end of the year, the national assembly reduced allocation to the project in the 2017 Budget by N5 billion.

    Namdas said that the deducted was applied to fund other projects in the South-East, and left N7 billion for the Second Niger Bridge.

    “The truth is that in the 2016 Budget, N12 billion was appropriated for the Second Niger Bridge but not a kobo was spent by the ministry. Not a kobo was spent and the money was returned.

    “The ministry could not provide the Committees of the National Assembly with evidence of an agreement on the Public-Private-Partnership (PPP) or a contract for the Second Niger Bridge,’’ he said.

    Namdas said that the legislature also queried an omnibus allocation of N20 billion in the ministry’s budget whose details were not provided by the minister.

    He explained that it would have been irresponsible of the lawmakers to appropriate funds that were not tied to specific projects, adding that for doing so, “we incurred the wrath of the ‘almighty minister’”.

    He reiterated that the national assembly had powers in Sections, 4, 59, 80 and 81 of the 1999 Constitution (Amended) to amend the budget estimates submitted by the executive.

    Namdas said that the decision to redistribute the projects proposed by the ministry was in order to ensure even spread of projects across geo-political zones, which the proposal of the executive failed to do.

  • NASS ‘smuggled’ boreholes, other strange items into 2017 budget – Fashola

    NASS ‘smuggled’ boreholes, other strange items into 2017 budget – Fashola

    The Minister of Power, Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola has raised alarm over the insertion of projects outside the purview of his ministry in the 2017 Appropriation Act by the National Assembly.

    Fashola, a senior advocate, said it was unfair to the Executive arm for the inclusion of such projects after public hearings on the budget and defence of the fiscal estimates by the ministries.

    “What I have in my budget now is primary healthcare centres, boreholes,’’ he said at an interactive session with editors on Thursday.

    “That was the meeting we had with the Acting President and that was the reason why the budget was not signed on time.

    “We were ask to complete those abandoned projects; the budget of Lagos-Ibadan Expressway was reduced by the National Assembly from N31 billion to N10 billion.

    “We are owing the contractors about N15 billion and they have written to us that they are going to shut down.

    “Also, the budget of the 2nd Niger bridge was reduced from N15 billion to N10 billion and about N3 billion or so was removed from the Okene-Lokoja-Abuja road budget.’’

    Fashola added: “Everybody is complaining about power supply but they also cut the budget for Manbila power project and the Bodo bridge that connects the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas Station was also cut and all these were also discussed.

    “If after we have defended the budget and we had gone and the legislature unilaterally changed the budget, what is the purpose of deliberation?’’

    According to Fashola, it is unfair to Nigerians after public hearings were conducted with tax payers’ money and consultations with the lawmakers only for the budget to be altered, cut or padded.

    The minister said that apart from the 200 uncompleted roads he inherited from the previous administration, the lawmakers added100 roads.

    “These roads are not federal roads and some of them do not have designs, how do we award roads that were not designed irrespective of the power you have?

    “It is unconstitutional for the National Assembly (NASS) to legislate on state roads.

    “A budget is an estimation plan that set in motion what is to be spent, how much will be borrowed and how much will be collected.

    “The executive controls all the machinery for collecting taxes and other revenue with relevant data from the Ministries of Finance, Physical Planning and the Budget Office and others.

    “I am not saying that the legislature cannot contribute to the budget, but I hold the view that it cannot increase the budget because they do not collect the revenue with which to run or implement the budget,’’ Fashola was quoted as saying.

    Fashola, who held sway as Lagos State Governor between 2007 and 2015, however, said the National Assembly “might mean well and not do the right.’’

    He canvassed interdependence and collaboration among the three arms of government rather than independence to ensure a harmonious relationship.

    The minister said that without it, the country would not make progress and would be bogged down by the politics of total separation of power and what he called “power of example rather than example of power.’’

    “The society benefits more from the power of example and interdependence rather than the example (show) of power; it requires that we show good examples.’’

    On the concept of interdependence, Fashola said the President and the Vice-President could not swear themselves into office but by the judicial arm, while the president also proclaims the National Assembly without which it could not start business.

    In the same vein, he said the National Assembly confirms ministerial nominees and justices of the courts who are in turn sworn-in by the executive.

    He urged the intervention of the judicial arm of government to set the necessary parameters and set things right.

    Fashola, however, blamed the electorate for putting pressure on the lawmakers and expecting them to do what was outside their constitutional duties of law-making, representation and oversight.

    “There is need for mass orientation and enlightenment for Nigerians not to expect their elected representatives to provide roads, water, light and execute capital projects which is the function of the executive arm.’’

     

     

    NAN

  • 2017 Budget: Osinbajo played into the hands of NASS – Jibrin

    Suspended member of the House of Representatives, Abdulmumin Jibrin, has said Acting President Yemi Osinbajo, took a risk by signing the 2017 Budget.

    In a statement released on Monday, Jibrin described Osinbajo’s action as the “most generous concession in budget negotiation by a president since 1999”.

    The lawmaker recalled that last year, President Muhammadu Buhari refused to sign the document, until all “grey areas” were resolved and corrections effected by the House.

    “He (Osinbajo) further stated that he agreed to sign the budget after the assurance of commitment from NASS to restore the lifted funds. That demonstration of faith in NASS was unprecedented, and the most generous concession in budget negotiation by a President since 1999,” the statement read.

    “No President has ever agreed to sign the budget into law on the basis of extracting a commitment from NASS. In this case of Ag President Osinbajo, perhaps beyond the respect he enjoins, he must strive to also be feared, through resistance to compromising settlements in his relationship with NASS.

    “The reason isn’t far-fetched; all attempts to flatter and hoodwink President Buhari into signing the 2016 budget, by assuring to make corrections later, met an impenetrable brick wall. He saw through the smokescreen, and thus even refused to be blackmailed by threats of possible backlash from NASS if the budget is not signed before corrections are made and also the need to save time.

    “No President was ready to take the risk with NASS but Osinbajo did, as it appeared like striking a deal with an untrustworthy partner. Whether this seeming pact is calculated or not, is left for time and the scrutiny of vigilant and critical Nigerians to determine. What is obvious, however, is the Ag President has played into the hands of NASS.

    “What the Ag President has given to NASS is a victory it has never had in the budget process since 1999, understandably to strengthen the relationship between the two frequently hostile arms of government. And so, he deserves a reciprocal gesture and unmistakable friendship from the lawmakers, not attacks and threats.”

     

  • 2017 Budget: You can’t play both legislative, executive functions, Sagay blasts NASS

    …Says NASS members sees public funds as their ‘share of national cake’

    The Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption, PACAC, Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), on Sunday, blasted the National Assembly for daring to combine their roles as legislators with that of the executive.

    Sagay queried the power of the National Assembly to insert projects into the budget.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, had, while signing the 2017 Budget into law last week, queried some “alterations” in the budget by the National Assembly.

    He said such alterations would affect the plans of the executive to execute the projects as designed from the beginning.

    However, Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, had, in turn, rejected Osinbajo’s position, stating that the legislative arm of government had the powers to alter the budget.

    Sagay, however, argued that the National Assembly had no power to introduce any project into the budget.

    Speaking in Abuja at a programme organised by the National Association of Seadogs (the Pyrates Confraternity), the PACAC chairman said the legislative arm of government should not cross its bounds.

    Sagay stated, “I am amused that the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House are saying that the acting President had no right to comment on this matter. They said they have all the powers.

    “The National Assembly has no power to create projects; it approves budgets. It is the government, the executive, that takes proposals for projects but this National Assembly does not get the message; it wants to be both legislature and executive at the same time.”

    He alleged that the National Assembly was largely to blame for the ineffectiveness of past budgets because the members placed their selfish interests ahead of the nation’s interest.

    The PACAC chairman added, “Even CNN reports that there are more private jets in Nigeria than commercial aircraft. The truth is that the overwhelming number of Nigerian elite see any funds voted or appropriated for any project as their share of the national cake.

    “The National Assembly itself sees the Nigerian national budget as its personal budget, its money to tinker with at will and then to leave something to the rest of us.

    “It is no surprise that Nigeria’s development remains stunted and misery and poverty remain overwhelming.”

    The House, however, insisted that it stood by its earlier position that the power of appropriation resided with the National Assembly.

    It also reminded Sagay that the acting President signed the budget into law, knowing that there were new projects inserted.

    The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Abdulrazak Namdas, told newsmen that the comments coming from the executive on the budget were “unnecessary.”

    Namdas stated, “We gave our position on this matter already and keep repeating it. The power of the purse, in a presidential democracy, resides with the legislature and Nigeria will not be different.

    “The acting President signed this same budget into law after studying it for several days. He knew there were additional projects and he signed. We have a law in place. Is it after the law has come into effect that they turn around to question the powers of the National Assembly?”

    However, Namdas advised the executive to approach the judiciary for the interpretation of the 1999 Constitution if it was in doubt over any of its provisions.

    “They are the ones asking questions. Let them go to court,” he added.

     

  • PHOTOS: Legislative aides protest colleague’s death due to delayed salaries

    Legislative aides at the National Assembly on Tuesday protested over the death of their colleague, Mr. Hassan Abiodun, who was attached to the Office of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yusuf Sulaiman Lasun.

    Abiodun was said to be suffering from appendicitis that required N165,000 to be operated on, but he died before he could raise the money to pay his hospital bill.

    The aides attributed Abiodun’s death to irregular payment of salaries and allowances by the National Assembly Management.

  • We will engage, we will not confront – Osinbajo tells NASS

    We will engage, we will not confront – Osinbajo tells NASS

    Acting President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, said the executive would continue to engage the legislature in line with democratic principles to ensure that Nigerians enjoyed dividends of democracy.

    He stated this at the House of Representatives activity to mark second anniversary celebration of the 8th National Assembly on Friday in Abuja.

    Represented by Sen. Ita Enang, Senior Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters, Osinbanjo said that the executive would not confront the legislative arm in their dealings.

    “We appreciate the powers of the legislature; we will in our relationship with you, continually relate on the basis of honour for each other. We will only engage, we will not confront you.

    “We thank you, we congratulate you for the two years of your existence, and we wish you the best in the remaining years of your service,” he said.

    In his address, President of the Senate, Dr Bukola Saraki, described the Senate and the House of Representatives as two inseparable twins.

    Saraki, who was represented by Sen. Dino Melaye said that both chambers would continue to work together for the progress of the country.

    He said that he was proud of the House, saying that it had done very well in the last two years.

    He assured that the chambers would continue to collaborate as functions of legislation would not be discharged effectively achieved without a synergy.

    The 8th National Assembly was inaugurated on June 9, 2015.

     

    NAN

  • Prolonged strike: LAUTECH students storm NASS, beg FG to take over institution

    Prolonged strike: LAUTECH students storm NASS, beg FG to take over institution

    Students of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomosho, on Thursday, stormed the National Assembly, demanding that the federal government should take over funding and administration of the institution owing to several months of industrial action by both academic and non-academic staff of the institution.

    The aggrieved students decried the prolonged industrial action, which had kept them in one level for almost 2 years.

    TheNewsGuru.com reports that the institution which was established in 1990 is run by both Oyo and Ogun States.

    “It is pertinent, we also bring to your notice sir, that Osun state had, had a separate state university, just as Oyo state recently commissioned hers, leaving LAUTECH in more dilemma,” one of the protesters told newsmen.

    President of the Students Union Government (SUG) of the institution, Comrade Bakare Solace Olateinde, while addressing the press, said, leaving the school in the hands of Osun or Oyo state would practically spell doom for the students.

    He said, non-payment of salaries, allowances and arrears accounted to the incessant industrial actions which have made students to outgrow their age, in their academic pursuit.

    “The 500 level and other students in junior levels have remained in the same level since 2015”, Olateinde said.

    Speaking further, the SUG President said, “our alumni always recount their experiences to us as they are always being faced with genuine shock and barefaced humbling, that despite their good results and the standard of the institution from which they had graduated from, they are always being met with rejection at the labour market, due to age factor, which was solemnly due to time wastage and delay before completion of their academic education.”

    “We hereby, passionately appeal to the federal government to consider our appeal to save the lives and future of over thirty five thousand (35,000) students of this citadel of learning,” he submitted.

  • Court grants Bala, former minister’s son permission to travel for Hajj

    Court grants Bala, former minister’s son permission to travel for Hajj

    Under trial former FCT Minister’s son, Shamsudeen Bala, was on Wednesday granted permission to travel for lesser hajj by a Federal High Court, sitting in Abuja.

    At the resumed hearing, the defence counsel, Kanayo Okafor, prayed the court to release the international passport of the defendant to enable him travel for the lesser hajj.

    The prosecution counsel, Mr Ben Ikani, who opposed the application, stated that the defence was trying to delay the trial.

    After listening to both counsels the judge, Justice Nnamdi Dimgba, granted the defendant permission to travel for the hajj.

    Dimgba ruled that a member of the National Assembly shall write an undertaking to guarantee that the defendant would be back to the country.

    He ordered that the EFCC would verify the identity of the NASS member before releasing defendant’s international passport.

    The judge further ordered that the defendant must deposit his international passport to the registry of the court within 24 hours of his return to the country.

    He adjourned the matter until June 26 for continuation of trial.

    TheNewsGuru recalls that Shamsudeen was re-arraigned on May 30, on an amended 15-count charge bordering on money laundering.

    He was re-arraigned alongside four companies – Bird Trust Agro Allied Limited, Intertrans Global Logistic Limited, Diakin Telecommunications Limited and Bal-Vac Mining Nigeria Limited.

     

  • NASS committed to making laws to improve business environment – Dogara

    NASS committed to making laws to improve business environment – Dogara

    The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Yakubu Dogara, has assured that the National Assembly will act on legislations that will improve Nigeria’s business environment.

    Dogara gave the assurance on Monday in his remarks at the one year anniversary of National Assembly Business Environment Roundtable (NASSBER) in Abuja.

    He commended NASSBER for the successes it had achieved over the last one year, saying that the group’s efforts would lead to robust and responsive private sector.

    “Looking back the last 12 months, NASSBER is but a success story of novel synergy, dialogue and engagement between the legislature, development partner, the private sector, the bench and citizens.

    “The National Assembly will continue to play a central role not only in governance but also ensuring that we deliberate and act on frameworks that will improve Nigeria’s business environment.

    “This we will do through the review of relevant legislations and provisions of the constitution.

    “A little over a year ago when NASSBER was inaugurated, we were very confident it was the right step to take if we were indeed committed to bringing our economy out of recession, and stimulating long term economic growth.’’

    Dogara urged members of the NASSBER Committees to provide the strategic guidance needed to move the roundtable initiative forward.

    He added that they were on course to having the law as a proactive instrument to promote development and, therefore, influence and change present realities.

    The speaker congratulated DFID ENABLE project, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), and the Nigerian Bar Association – Session on Business Law (NBA-SBL) for their service to the nation through the project.

    He said that the outcome of their efforts will lead to an agile private sector that could respond to global opportunities.

    “As a result of this effort, I am more confident that our economy would attract ‘agile private sector that can innovate and respond to global opportunities’ as contemplated in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) of this government,” he said.

    The speaker also commended the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, for demonstrating leadership and an unwavering commitment to the NASSBER process.