NASS cries to buhari for help, tells him the bad and hard situations, Nigerians are facing
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Members of the House of Representatives, on Tuesday’s plenary session, raised an alarm over the rate of poverty and hunger in the land that cuts across all segments including them, the Lawmakers.
They spoke as President Muhammadu Buhari wrote to the House, about his plan to present the 2018-2020 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper to the Lawmakers.
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The Lawmakers’ worry about poverty, came as they passed a motion to mark the World Poverty Day.
The motion was sponsored by the Chairman, Committee on Poverty Alleviation, Muhammad Wudil.
They resolved to, “call on the Federal Government to be more effective in implementing various programmes aimed at tackling poverty in the country.”
One Member from Osun State, Mrs. Ayo Omidiran, described how poverty was biting most Nigerians, including Lawmakers.
She stated: “There is no member here who is not feeling the pangs of poverty. Many of our Constituents depend on us for their basic needs; they are feeling the pangs of poverty. People now go to their neighbours’ houses to seek help, which is embarrassing already. In turn, many of them run to us, asking for one favour or another.”
Buhari’s letter on the 2018-2020 MTEF/FSP was read just as the House passed the 2017 Federal Capital Territory statutory budget of N222.3 billion, for second reading.
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The MTEF/FSP is a requirement of the Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007, and sets out the Federal Government’s revenue and spending plans for 2018-2020.
The letter read partly: “Pursuant to provisions of the Fiscal Responsibility Act, 2007, the preparation towards the submission of the 2018 budget to the National Assembly is progressing well.
“The MTEF and FSP were prepared against the backdrop of a generally adverse global economic uncertainty, as well as fiscal challenges and recovery in the domestic economy, to ensure that planned spending is set at prudent and sustainable levels, and is consistent with government’s overall developmental objectives and inclusive growth.”
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