The House of Representatives Wednesday mandated its committee on capital market and institutions to carry out a thorough investigation to identify latent and manifest problems that are militating against the smooth operation of the capital market.
 
The resolution to probe the capital market was taken following a motion by the chairman of the House committee on capital markets and institutions, Hon. Herman Hembe (PDP, Benue) who lamented that the anticipated economic growth in the country would remain a mirage if the capital market remains in its comatose stage.
 
Hon. Hembe who brought the motion under matter of urgent national importance noted that although the capital market in every nation is the backbone of the economy, the capital market in Nigeria has continued to witness downward slide in the last four years.
 
He warned that for the projected economic growth envisioned by President Goodluck Jonathan during his budget presentation to be realized, ‘it is imperative that we work assiduously to get the capital market back to its desirable heights’.
 
In his contribution, Hon. Pally Iriase (ACN, Edo) warned that unless something urgent is done to halt the slide in the capital market, the country would pay dearly for it.
 
According to him, the decline in the capital market is directly responsible for the huge borrowing by state governments as they easily resort to bonds to fund their projects, noting that ‘unless the Capital Market is sustainable, the economy cannot improve’.
 
In another development, the House of Representatives yesterday directed its committee on Petroleum to investigate the emerging queues at filling stations.
 
The committee is expected to report its finding within one week.
 
In a motion brought before the House by Hon. Bashir Babale, the House of Representatives express worry that any scarcity of petroleum products at this time is likely to cause much discomfort to the Nigerian people especially those preparing to travel for the yuletide.

Source: The Will/Saint Mugaga