By Adekunle  Ogbonnaiye, Ado-Ekiti

Senator Fatimat Raji-Rasaki, has commenced the distribution of materials  worth over N100 million for her constituents in Ekiti Central Senatorial District.
The Chairman,  Senate Committee on Trade and Investment, said the empowerment materials is  to  facilitate self-reliance for the people of the area, nothing that  obsolete policies and legislations in the country were responsible for the economic recession bedeviling  the nation.

The  People’s Democratic Party (PDP) Senator, however denied any frosty relationship between her and  Ekiti State Governor,  Ayodele Fayose and also debunked the rumour that she is planning to dump the PDP to the All Progressives Congress, APC.

“My relationship with some APC senators was based on the fact that we don’t  discuss parties in the Senate. We operate as one and we think of the  interest of the nation. So, I remain in the PDP and I never thought of defecting”, she clarified.

Speaking with newsmen  in Ado Ekiti on Thursday, Senator  Raji-Rasaki said she decided to empower  her constituents as a way of bringing the  dividends of democracy to the grassroots and show appreciation to the people who voted for her to become a senator.

Materials to be distributed  at the event slated for two days includes; a sum  of N10 million cash for small and medium scale enterprises, five buses  for NULGE , sewing  machines, grinding machines, generators, freezers, among others.

She however blamed some politicians and national leaders, who were  making derogatory  comments about the country outside the shore of the nation as being responsible from the boycott  of the country  by intending investors.

“How do you expect our  people to go outside the country and start calling  us thieves, rogues and you expect foreign investors  to bring their monies here?  They have a bad perception about us. Even, the Senate Committee on Aviation are still appealing to Aviation companies relocating from Nigeria to Ghana to come back.

“The forex is no longer stable because the level of investment determines the stability of the monetary policy. The Senate has made useful recommendations to President Muhammadu Buhari  on how to attract investors  and we expect him to act appropriately”.

Senator Raji-Rasaki noted that   the committee she superintends over is interacting with Taiwanan and British governments on  bilateral relations in terms of trade, policies and investments, describing this as the best way to strengthen the country’s debilitating economy.

The senator  said  aside from the relocation  of investors  from  the country, she ascribed the poor economic state of the nation to outdated legislations and policies, which she said  needed to “either be repealed or amended to strengthen the economy”.

“The Senate is looking into all these obsolete laws. Some of them were promulgated  in the 50’s and 60’s. We are reviewing them and those we thought should be amended  or repealed are being critically looked into”.

She  added that she intends to sponsor a bill for the establishment  of a commission to supervise all the three trade free zones in the country, both public and private to attract investors and fortify the economy, saying the bill has passed the second reading .

According to her,  the  low level of  industrial development of  Ekiti was responsible for  the  inability  of its citizens to benefit from the Bank of Industry (BoI), saying the federal bank is devising  ways to meet up with the people’s demands in this regard.