The leadership of the Senate and the House of Representatives met late on Wednesday, to further cement their operations and ensure a common front on issues affecting the nation.
Sources in the National Assembly confirmed that the Principal Officers of the House of Representatives, led by the Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, met with the Principal Officers of the Senate at the residence of the Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki, where issues regarding a common reaction from the legislature were discussed.
“The leadership of both chambers of the parliament met in the late hours of Wednesday, in a bid to further unite the two arms of the federal legislature and get them to take common position on issues,” the source said.
The source confirmed that the meeting lasted two and a half hours in the private residence of Senate President located on Maitama, Abuja.
The source further confirmed that “the leaders of the two Houses agreed that the two chambers should always take common position on critical issues affecting the nation and that they should always harmonise their positions on all national issues.
Sources also confirmed that the meeting discussed the current economic recession, adding that the House should also take its time to deliberate on the economic situation and come up with recommendations that could help the executive arm of government revive the ailing economy.
Another source said of the meeting: “We also agreed to fast-track the various bills awaiting concurrence in the two chambers before they are presented to President Muhammadu Buhari for assent. We also deliberated on the need to create better working relationship and hold regular meetings so that we can always be on the same page on all issues.”
Meanwhile, the Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI) has urged the Federal Government to roll out short-term programmes to check the current economic hardship being faced by Nigerians, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
A statement issued in Abuja, on Thursday, by the chamber’s president, Mr Tony Ejinkeonye, said unless measures were taken to check the development, ending it by December might be a mirage.
Ejinkeonye was reacting to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s claim that the country’s economic recovery would begin in the last quarter of the year.
“I do not agree that the economy will be out of recession by the end of this year. Government does not have structures on ground to suggest that will happen.
“I do not think it is going to happen. That means the Federal Government has only one quarter to get us out of the recession that is so deep. We do not believe that. It will take a while.”
According to him, it takes a minimum of five years for any country to recover from economic recession.
The chamber boss urged the Federal Government to put physical measures in place to demonstrate that the country would be out of recession in the next three months.