Successive administrations in the country have acknowledged that one of the main drains of national resources has been the burgeoning cost of governance. Some have argued that Nigeria does not need a bi-camera legislature, suggesting that the Senate is unnecessary. Often they refer to the cost of maintaining these lawmakers, along with their personal staff and legislative aides.
The cry hit the ceiling recently when the Senator representing Kano South, Senator Sumaila Kawu, courageously revealed that he earns over N21m monthly as a total take-home package allowance every month, besides their N1.06 million salary for sitting three days on a week, where their counterparts in the Green Chamber receive N16 million. The situation is not any different from the states where scores commissioners and other aides are appointed, with salaries and overhead costs consuming a huge chunk of federal allocation.
Hence, there has been consensus within the ruling and opposition elements on the need to cut down the cost of running government affairs substantively. For instance, Head of Information and Public Affairs, at the Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC), Mr. Benson Upah lamented about rising cost of governance in the country, especially in view of lawmakers’ jumbo allowances.
He said: “It is part of the scandalously state-structured wage system that breeds choking inequality and inequity...
The cost of governance will continue to balloon as privileged members of the executive and legislative.