The Senate on Wednesday urged the Federal Government send and Economic Stimulus Bill encompassing all fiscal stimulus packages, investments and incentives, pledging accelerated consideration and passage when received.

Among other resolutions to get Nigeria out of recession, the legislators also want low interest funding under the stimulus package targeted at social safety programmes; power generation; agricultural value chain; textile manufacturing; national highway network construction and maintenance. Others are: railway construction and maintenance; motor vehicle assembly plants; completion and commissioning of Ajaokuta Steel Complex; Arts, Science and Technology; as well as humanitarian activities in the North East.

The upper legislative chamber also wants the fiscal and monetary authorities to harmonise all policies that lower interest rates for investors in the real sector and small/medium scale farmers.

The Federal Government was also enjoined to adopt peaceful means in the Niger Delta to restore Nigeria’s oil production back to 2.2 million barrels per day; just as the “government should negotiate foreign concessionary borrowing agreements to cover shortfalls in the 2016 budget and the government’s accelerated infrastructural development programme, (and) restrict and cap the issuance of bonds and treasury bills in order not to crowd-out local investors from the market.”

•Sourced from Independent. Photo shows Senate President Bukola Saraki.