Senate’s Interventions Pay Off: Naira Strengthens, Inflation Rate Decreases to 20.12% – Official

The 10th Senate says it has played a crucial role in stabilizing the nation’s economy, improving fiscal policies, and promoting inclusive development nationwide.

Specifically, the upper chamber credited its interventions with helping to strengthen the Naira and reduce inflation, which he stated currently stands at 20.12%—an improvement of 4.23% in recent months.

Kenny Okolugbo, Media Consultant to the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, highlighted what he calls the “unprecedented achievements” in lawmaking, economic reforms, and governance under Akpabio’s leadership in a statement released on Monday, October 6, in Abuja and obtained by Persecondnews.

Okolugbo announced that the 10th Senate had passed over 90 bills in just two years, with 52 already signed into law by President Bola Tinubu.

“We are not yet there, but there is light at the end of the tunnel,” he said.

He listed key legislations such as the Student Loan Act, which enables indigent students to access education loans repayable only after employment, and the Tax Reform Bill, which was initially resisted but later passed to expand the tax net and ease the burden on low-income earners.

Other notable achievements, he added, include the passage of the Minimum Wage Act, which doubled workers’ pay by 100 per cent and exempted those earning the minimum wage from personal income tax, as well as the establishment of five regional development commissions across the South-East, South-West, South-South, North-West, and North-Central zones.

“These commissions will bring governance and development closer to the people, addressing long-standing issues of regional imbalance,” he said.

Despite the Senate not yet receiving the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework and Fiscal Strategy Paper from the Executive, Okolugbo said the upper chamber had taken proactive steps to extend the implementation of capital projects in the 2024 and 2025 budgets to prevent economic disruptions.

He disclosed that plans were underway to convene a National Security Summit to address the root causes of insecurity in the country, while the Electricity Act had been strengthened to prevent arbitrary tariff hikes.

“We cannot continue to pay higher bills for electricity we rarely get,” he noted.

Okolugbo maintained that the achievements of the 10th Senate show that legislative effectiveness is not measured by confrontation with the Executive but by constructive collaboration that delivers tangible results for Nigerians.