12 July 2013, Abuja – The Senate President, Sen. David Mark, has urged the Federal Government to ensure that tangible results were delivered to justify the establishment of the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P.
Mark gave the advice on Thursday in Abuja while inaugurating the Senate Special Ad-Hoc Committee on SURE-P.
He advised the Federal Government to make good its promise to expend the fund on key areas of development that would have direct impact on the lives of the people.
“The removal of fuel subsidy can only be justified with practical evidence of the things that you have done with the money that you realise from fuel subsidy.“It is not a matter of statistics on pages of newspapers.
It has to be what people can see and attest to.“Government must be able to show people physical infrastructure done with the SURE-P money, so that people will know that subsidy removal is done on the basis of good reasons.
“There should be clear evidence of things like improvement in empowerment of women and youth, healthcare for women and children as well as in mass transit.
“Whether there will be further subsidy removal will depend entirely on what we have done with the money realised,‘’ he said.
Mark said the Senate’s Special Ad-hoc Committee on SURE-P must brace up to a successful discharge of its mandate by effective performance of its oversight functions.
He charged the committee to urgently commence work to ensure that the projects earmarked were adequately monitored to ensure that they were promptly delivered according to specifications.
“This committee is very important because the result will be very glaring for all to see. If you don’t perform your oversight functions it will be obvious.
“You have a very difficult task ahead as a committee, because if people don’t begin to see these projects immediately, they will start agitating.“I want you to start work yesterday, not today or tomorrow, ‘’Mark advised.
Earlier, the Chairman of the 13-member committee, Sen. Abdul Ningi, pledged the determination of the committee to monitor every amount expended on projects under SURE-P.
Ningi said the committee would cooperate with all stakeholders to enthrone accountability and probity in the implementation of the SURE-P intervention projects.