Miffed by the continued depreciation of Naira, the House of
Representatives has summoned the Governor of Central Bank of
Nigeria (CBN), Sanusi Lamido Sanusi and the Minister of Finance,
Dr. Ngozi Okonjo Iweala. The duo are to appear before the House Committees on Finance, Banking
and Currency, and National Planning and Economic Development on a date
that is to be determined by the House.
The summon of Iweala and Sanusi followed the adoption of a motion
moved by Odebunmi Olusegun Dokun, titled the ‘Need to check the
continuous devaluation of the Naira’.
Dokun lamented what he called the steady slide of Naira, stressing
that the nation’s economy in the future may be in serious danger if the
situation was not checked.
He contended: “There has been a continuous decrease in the Naira
value over the years against major currencies in the world. A critical
look at these last few years, taking the US Dollar as a basis for
comparison shows that around 1990 to 1993, it was about N28 to a Dollar;
around 1994 to 1996, it was about N40 to a Dollar; around 1996 to 1999,
it was about N80 to a Dollar; around 1999 to 2007, it was about N140 to
a Dollar; and from 2007 to date, it is about N158 to a Dollar. This
shows a continuous devaluation in Naira value without any improvement,
and if this downward trend persists, it will affect Nigeria’s economy
and the future of the nation in general.”
The chamber adopted his prayers and gave the Committee six weeks to report back to it.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has directed the
Attorney-General of the Federation to consider prosecuting Caverton
Helicopters for providing wrong information that led authorities to
believe that Rivers State Government falsified documents of its
Bombardier B700 aircraft.
Adopting the report of its Committees on Justice and Aviation which
investigated the circumstances surrounding the grounding of the Rivers
plane yesterday, the House called on the “Ministry of Aviation to desist
from undue interference in the day-to-day operations of the aviation
regulatory authorities an envisaged by the law.”
The House also urged the aviation regulatory authorities to operate
professionally and ensure compliance with international best practices
in the industry.
Similarly, the lawmakers recommended that the Rivers State Government
be allowed to comply with the necessary conditions for granting of all
required permits and licences to its Bombardier B700 Global Express with
registration number N565Rs.
It further mandated its committee on aviation to “scrutinise the
reason for rampant foreign registration of aircraft by their owners and
further investigate all private aircraft operating in the country with a
view to sanitizing their activities and ensuring enforcement of the
law.”
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