Reps probe collapse of capital market

Posted by admin House, Legislature Thursday, December 15th, 2011

By Ben Agande
ABUJA—Worried by the deteriorating state of Nigeria’s capital market, House of Representatives, yester-day, directed its Committee on Capital Market and Institutions to carry out a thorough investigation to identify the sector’s latent and manifest problems.

Similarly, the House also directed its Committee on Petroleum to investigate the emerging queue at filing stations, especially in Abuja, and submit its report within one week.

Yesterday’s decision of the House followed a motion by chairman of the House Committee on Capital Markets and Institutions, Herman Hembe, who lamented that the anticipated economic growth in the country would remain a mirage if the capital market remained in its comatose state.

Hembe, who brought the motion under matter of urgent national importance, noted that although the capital market was the backbone of the economy of any nation, the capital market in Nigeria had 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 realised, “it is imperative that we work assiduously to get the capital market back to its desirable heights.”

In another development, the House of Representatives, yesterday, directed its Committee on Petroleum to investigate the emerging queues at filling stations and report back within one week.

In a motion brought before the House by Bashir Babale, the House expressed worry that any scarcity of petroleum products at this time was likely to cause much discomfort to Nigerians, especially those preparing to travel for the yuletide.

The fear of imminent removal of fuel subsidy had resulted in the emergence of long queues at petrol filling stations, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said yesterday.

NNPC allays fear

A statement by NNPC’s spokesman, Dr. Levi Ajuonuma, said the queues were the outcome of the rush by some marketers and consumers to mop-up enough products in anticipation of the envisaged take-off of the deregulation exercise which they believe will commence with Tuesday’s budget presentation by Mr. President.

Ajuonuma said: “From the stand-point of supply and distribution of petroleum products, we are positive that there is no need for anybody to indulge in any form of hoarding and amassing of petroleum products because nothing has changed about our adequate stock levels.

“Even from the Health, Safety and Environment, HSE, point of view, it is extremely dangerous to store products at home, especially in this period of dry winds and harmattan.”

Ajuonuma also quoted Prince Haruna Momoh, Managing Director of the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC, a subsidiary of NNPC, as saying that his division has stepped up supply levels especially in the Northern part of the country to counter any envisaged gap induced by the panic buying, while working closing with the Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, to ensure compliance and zero manipulation of the situation at the pumps.

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