New Telegraph

Nigeria lacks fund to deliver infrastructure –Gbajabiamila

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that the nation did not have required financial resources to develop infrastructure.

Gbajabiamila stated this yesterday in his address to declare open an investigative hearing by the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Finance, Banking and Currency to identify and plug revenue leakages that cast the Federal Government in excess of $30 billion annually.

 

He said: “Today, our country is facing significant revenue challenges because of the global collapse in the price of crude oil, brought about by a severe and on-going contraction in the global economy and the consequent reduction in demand for fossil fuels.

 

“Here at home, we have not escaped the global economic downturn, which means that even local tax receipts have fallen precipitously.

 

“The sum of all these, is that we do not have the resources we need to deliver on our development ambitions and the infrastructure projects we have committed to. “Under these circumstances, it is unconscionable that we are still losing vast sums of money to avoidable leakages in the system”.

 

The speaker explained that; “The House of Representatives has resolved to identify the sources of these leakages, and the systemic failures that have either created them, or caused them to persist.

 

“We will follow on from that by taking necessary action to propose and implement solutions that will ensure our country no longer loses these huge sums we desperately need to build infrastructure and support enterprise that creates jobs for our people”. He said for the joint committee to deliver on the mandate of the House in this instance, “there is a need to work with the Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the government.

 

“This effort by the House is in fulfilment of our constitutional obligations and we intend to act always with integrity and diligence in the best interest of our nation. “I encourage our executive colleagues to see this as an opportunity for constructive collaboration in the national interest.”

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