BEVERLY HILLS, February 14, (THEWILL) – The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, on Tuesday lamented that Nigerians are living in anguish owing to poverty and hunger. He noted that some citizens can no longer afford to feed and that children are dropping out of school due to inability of parents to pay school fees.
Bemoaning the worsening economic indices in the country brought about by the present economic recession, he warned that the several policies formulated to tackle the recession would yield no results if not properly implemented.
The Speaker spoke while inaugurating the House of Representatives Tactical Committee on the Economic Recession with the mandate to interface with government ministries, agencies, and departments, as well as the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, Nigeria Labour Congress, Civil societies organisations, and other relevant bodies.
According to him, “The double quarters of negative growth, high levels of inflation, worsening purchasing power of the naira and the increasing levels of unemployment are all strong indicators that all is not well.
“Today, some of our people can no longer afford to feed. Some school children are dropping out of school due to inability of parents to pay school fees.
“Transportation, power, healthcare are difficult for the ordinary citizen. There is general anguish on the faces of Nigerians due to poverty and hunger.”
Dogara went on to assure that “as a parliament, we are committed to ensuring that the sufferings experienced by ordinary Nigerians are alleviated. These challenges may appear too difficult to surmount but the good news is that they are surmountable. Other nations have surmounted greater economic challenges in the past and Nigeria’s case cannot be different.”
