The House of Rep asked 50questions and they got a 100 page answer or two pages per question. The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has provided a detailed 100-page documented response to the 50 questions posed by the House of Representatives Committee on Finance on the state of the economy.
In a statement issued by her Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Paul Nwabuikwu, the minister said the document provides, in extensive detail, including tables and graphs, answers to the committee’s well-publicised questions.
Here are some of her responses;
“The Jonathan administration, contrary to the impression given by some critics, is making an impact in the areas that, according to credible opinion polls, Nigerians are most passionate about.
“For instance, on job creation which is a central focus of the administration, a total of 1.6 million jobs were created last year, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of which 250,000 were seasonal jobs created in dry season farming in 10 northern states.
“In manufacturing, the Onne Oil and Gas Free zone created an estimated 30,000 direct and indirect jobs. The government special intervention programme YouWin supported young entrepreneurs, creating over 18,000 jobs. The SURE-P Community Services programme has also created 120,000 job opportunities.”
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Key highways which have witnessed significant progress include Kano-Maiduguri Road, the Abuja-Lokoja Road, the Apapa-Oshodi Road, the Onitsha-Enugu-Port-Harcourt Road and the Benin-Ore-Shagamu Road. Preliminary work has commenced on Lagos-Ibadan road and the Second Niger Bridge.
“The Railway Modernization Programme involving the construction of standard gauge lines is underway. The 1,124 km Western line linking Lagos and Kano is now functional, while work on the Eastern line linking Port Harcourt to Maiduguri is about 36 per cent complete
Source: Thisday
