Senator Mao Arukwe Ohuabunwa, is a politician, businessman and member of the 8th National Assembly representing Abia North on the banner of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP. In this chat, Ohuabunwa, who was also in the 4th and 5th National Assembly representing Arochukwu/Ohafia Federal constituency of Abia State in the House of Representatives spoke on Nigeria’s current economic situation. He declared that the way out of the woods is for the president to listen to the people. He also recounted the tortuous hurdles he scaled to get to the Senate.
Nigeria is said to be in recession, what does it mean to the Senate?

First and foremost, we are Nigerians and we represent the people. We saw this coming, and as a Senate we invited the major stakeholders; the minister of finance who is saddled with the responsibility of managing our finance and economy so to speak. She said that it was a technical recession. We invited the minister of national planning and budget who told us all the efforts they were making. We also invited the CBN Governor and everybody gave us the impression that things would not get out of hand. However, while we were on recess, it was declared openly that the economy was in recession. Now, we can see the level of hunger, hardship and poverty. When we came back, we resolved that nothing would be discussed except the economy. On the first day of our resumption, the senate president’s address was on the economy. We decided to use the whole of that week to discuss the economy, following which we made some resolutions and mandated the senate president to hand deliver them to the president.

Matter of urgency

We decided to bypass the normal, bureaucratic process of passing resolutions, but to hand deliver it to the president to show the level of urgency attached to this issue of recession.

What actually were contained in your resolutions?

Our resolutions include, short term, long term and medium term activities that must take place as a matter of urgency. At least, money should be delivered into the system. Capital projects captured in the 2016 Appropriation Act should be funded. There should be immediate ways to diversify the economy. We should pump money in agriculture and other areas.

Depression is like going into a coma; and at that you have to go into and intensive care unit, where the survival rate is 50:50. We pray that we won’t get into that. For us as a Senate, it is a serious matter, and we are doing everything within our power especially from the legislative and representative point of view, to solve it. We have also decided to go into oversight. We are looking at the agencies now, whether they are working in tandem with the mandate of getting us out of recession.

But there was a proposal to sell national assets, which the Senate didn’t approve of, so how do we get out of this?

We do not believe that selling the nation’s assets is the right way to go; that is why we did not support it. We can commercialise, have Public-Private Partnerships in running national assets, but selling is not the answer.

If you remember, one of our resolutions is that the President should always talk to the people. In talking to the people, issues would be resolved. People need to know what the Executive’s plans are, at all times.
Full details at http://www.akelicious.com/2016/11/sen-ohuabunwait-is-time-for-ndigbo-to.html?m=1

Talk, talk and more talk?
Invited finance minister to talk.
Wants PMB to do more talk.
When will they start doing all that has been said and is being said?

More empty chest beating nonsense!