Friday, 17 January 2014

Reps to hold public hearing on Okonjo-Iweala’s response to 50 questions

Finance Minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala before the House committee 

The House of Representatives Committee on Finance on Thursday acknowledged receipt of the response provided by the Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, to the 50 questions it recently posed to the government on the state of the country’s economy.
The Clerk of the Committee, Farouk Mustapha, said in a statement in Abuja shortly after the 102-page response from the Minister was received by the lawmakers that a timetable of activities would soon be released on how to address the issues raised in the document.
The Coordinating Minister on the Economy, who stirred a controversy after accusing the Committee Chairman, Abdulmumini Jubrin, of highhandedness when she appeared before the House on December 19, responded Thursday to the issues raised by the lawmakers.
While commending the Minister for responding to the questions “within reasonable time”, Mr. Mustapha said the committee would commence work immediately on the document.
He, however, noted that the Minister would be promptly informed if in the process of reviewing the responses the need arose for further explanation, information or additional document.
Mr. Mustapha said the Committee would also call for memoranda on the state of the economy from professionals, academics, civil society groups and all well-meaning Nigerians.
“This will be followed by a public hearing,” Mr. Mustapha said. “The process would be concluded with the presentation of a report to the House on the true state of our economy.”
While thanking Nigerians for their patience and understanding, the Committee urged them to continue to support it in its search for the truth regarding the country’s troubled economy.

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