The Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Ngozi Okonjo Iweala has submitted a 102 page response to the 50 questions on the economy provided her by the House of Representatives Committee of Finance.
In a statement by her Special Adviser, Paul C. Nwachukwu, the minister stated that the government had created 1.6 million jobs, repaired Federal Highways, modernized the railways and was reducing not increasing the country’s debt profile.
“The Jonathan administration, contrary to the impression given by some critics, is making 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 prgramme has also created 120,000 job opportunities, the minister said.
The minister stated that improvement in federal highways has been confirmed by many Nigerians who travelled over the Christmas and New Year holidays, stating that 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 response further noted that “the Railway Modernisation Programme involving the construction of standard gauge lines is underway” explaining that “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% complete.
“The Abuja-Kaduna Standard Gauge line has attained 68% completion, and the Itakpe-Ajaokuta-Warri Line which is presently 77% completed, will be completed next year. The annual passenger traffic on our railways has increased steadily: rising from 1 million in 2011 to 5 million in 2013,” the minister said.
On the issue of piling up debts, Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala said: “ There is no substance to the charge. In fact, the opposite is true.
“Under the leadership of President Jonathan and working with the Debt Management Office and the Budget Office of the Federation, the Minister followed through with a robust approach which includes progressive reduction of borrowing, quick settlement of due debts and the retirement of N75 billion of maturing bonds via a Sinking Fund dedicated to paying off substantial bonds. These measures have produced clear results as shown in the reduction of borrowing from N852 billion in 2011 to N571.9 billion this year,” Nwachukwu said in the statement.
On Inland Waterways, she said: “We have dredged about 72 km of the lower River Niger from Baro in Niger State to Warri in Delta State; and completed the construction of the Onitsha inland port; while the Baro port is nearing completion. The result of all these is that we now have year round navigation around the lower Niger; and we are already witnessing an increase in cargo volume from below 2.9 million metric tons in 2011 to over 5 million metric tons on the inland waterways. As in the case of the rail transport, the number of passengers travelling via our inland waterways has increased fourfold from 250,000 in 2011 to over 1.3 million.”
On progress in the power sector, she said, “We have privatised four power generation companies and 10 power distribution companies, and have virtually settled all claims and entitlements of PHCN workers. Some major cities got an average of 16-18 hours of electricity per day in 2013.”
She did however add that power had dropped in November and December as a result of the transition process.