The senator representing Anambra Central, Victor Umeh, has said that the National Assembly is concerned about the current hardship in the country, assuring that investigations into the N30 trillion Ways and Means loan obtained from the Central Bank by the previous administration would be pursued to the end.

Umeh told reporters in Enugu that the Senate was always interested in working for the overall benefit of Nigerians, stressing that the current problems in the country have accumulated over the years.

Explaining that Nigerians “are living in trying times,” Umeh, however, assured that he was optimistic that the current interventions would lift the country again and urged Nigerians to be patient with the federal government.

“I acknowledge that the problems we have today have accumulated over the years. They didn’t just start in one year. It is not the failing of the present administration and those of us in the legislature.

“I can tell you that we are all concerned about the state of affairs in Nigeria, be it in the economic sector or any other sector. We need reform in all aspects of our national life. We need to change the way we do things.

“If you follow our activities in the past few months, you see that the Senate and the National Assembly, in general, are concerned about looking at the things that brought us (Nigerians) to this sorry path; what are we going to do to turn things around?

“So, we are not unmindful of the difficulties we are experiencing in Nigeria in all sectors of the judiciary and other sectors of the economy. And in the public service, there are too many things to put back in order. And that is what we are asking for; people should exercise patience; it’s not something for which anybody can give up hope.”

Senator Umeh also spoke on the controversial issue of the purported N30 trillion Ways and Means loan said to have been borrowed from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) by the former President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration, saying the committee of which he is a member is determined to get to the root of it.

“The issue of the Ways and Means accumulating to N30 trillion. I was one of the senators that demanded an investigation, and the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, set up a committee to investigate the matter. I am a member of that committee.

“We have sat twice, and we are asking the relevant questions; we want to know how these monies were spent and for what purposes. This is the type of thing we do. I was very aggressive during the senate plenary session, demanding that an investigation be conducted, and we are doing the work now. We want to know how those monies were spent; we want to follow the monies to their final destinations. It is part of the problems we are having as a country; too much money being left in the hands of a few people.”

The politician reiterated the determination of the National Assembly to work for the overall interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. “When we were inaugurated at the National Assembly, the Senate President told us that we should work for Nigeria; that everybody should drop his political party and work for Nigeria. Let’s look at the issues facing Nigeria, and that’s the way we are working now.”

He called on all Nigerians to collectively contribute their quota to ensure the country works by doing the right things at the right time.