Former Abia State Governor and Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, has backed calls for a part-time legislature at both the federal and state levels.
Senator Kalu said it would help the nation save money against the background of the poor state of the economy.
The Chairman, Senate Committee on Privatisation, made the submission on his verified Facebook page over the weekend.
He said, “I think it will be a very good idea if my colleagues and other members of the House of Assembly will agree that we can sit for three months and do constitutional amendment first.
“So we can sit four times a year, and if there’s any emergency, there will be emergency sitting. We can come to do a presidential bid on that basis and go back instead of sitting on a full-time basis.
“Not only the Senate and the House of Representatives, but all the legislative houses in Nigeria will be part-time.”
The lawmaker also spoke in favour of the agitation for the regional government as another viable alternative to reduce the cost of governance, just as he dismissed the claim that lawmakers in both chambers of the National Assembly enjoy humongous salaries and allowances.
“If we’re going for regional government, it also means that the ministers, the legislators, will be the same. I’ve been tinkering with the idea of how we can save money to run Nigeria because the country needs money.
“I will encourage the President and the National Assembly to make these kinds of laws. This will help him, and this will help the system, and this will help everybody.
The ex-governor explained that, contrary to misconceptions among Nigerians, senators are not paid enough.
“But I want Nigerians and my colleagues to do a quick constitutional amendment so we can go and be a part-time sitting Senate, a part-time sitting House of Representatives, and the other 36 state houses of assembly in Nigeria.
“That will bring trust and relief to the Nigerian people,” the ex-governor said.
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