Fidelia Okafor.

Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on Tuesday admitted there is hunger and poverty in Nigeria.

Speaking in Abuja, the Speaker acknowledged that Nigerians can no longer cater for their needs in the face of the prevailing economic situation.

He, however, assured that the legislature is working towards alleviating the sufferings of Nigerians.

Dogara said, “Going by the report of the Nigeria Bureau of Statistics, economic recession is already with us.

“The double quarters of negative growth, high level of inflation, worsening purchasing power of the Naira and the increasing levels of unemployment are all strong indicators that all is not well.

“Today, some of our people can no longer afford to feed. Some school children are dropping out of school due to inability of parents to pay school fees.

“Transportation, power, healthcare are difficult for the ordinary citizens.

“There is general anguish on the faces of Nigerians due to poverty and hunger.

“We cannot continue to lament. The problems are well known. At this point in time, it is the solutions that matters more and that is what should engage our attention.

“As a parliament, we are committed to ensuring that the sufferings being experienced by ordinary Nigerians are alleviated.

“These challenges may appear too difficult to surmount but the good news is that they are surmountable.

“Other nations have surmounted greater economic challenges in the past and Nigeria’s case cannot be different.’’