Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili, best known for role as former World Bank Vice-President, Africa Region, yesterday, described the National Assembly as a drain pipe on the nation’s economy accusing the federal government of spending some N1trillion to subsidize the life styles of federal legislators.
Ezekwesili who also served as a former minister of Education said that the sum was spent between 2005 and last year mainly on salaries and allowances for legislators.
The leadership of the Senate, however, described the statement by the former minister as blackmail against the National Assembly.
But in a keynote address at the one-day dialogue session on the “Cost of governance in Nigeria”, Ezekwesili, said that “Since 2005, the National Assembly members alone have been allocated N1trillion,’’
While also lamenting that “82 per cent of Nigeria’s budgetary cost goes for recurrent expenditure, she said that banks earned N699billion as interests last year on loans secured by the government.
The former minister of Education, said that one of the greatest mistakes of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration under which she served twice as a minister was that Nigeria delved into democracy without necessarily doing away with a military mindset.
“There is a drawback to the military era. One major mistake of the government under which I served was that we simply got into democracy and did not spend reasonable time getting every citizen; every leader and every institution to do away with militaristic ethos and principles from their minds,” Ezekwesili added.
According to her, the social dilemma which the country currently finds itself would be overcome if stakeholders, especially lawmakers, consider part-time legislation as a means of bringing down the cost of governance.
Ezekwesili said while other countries were moving forward technologically, Nigeria was trapped by oil, a natural resource which it loses a revenue of about $1.6billion annually.
Victor Ndoma-Egba(SAN), Senate majority leader, said that t the National Assembly received far less than what the other arms of government were allocated in the national budget.
“I don’t know how she arrived at the figure. But what is allocated to the National Assembly is known to the public. In the last four years, the National Assembly has been allocated N150billion, which has been the highest since 1999. It is another attempt to blackmail the National Assembly” he insisted
Ezekwesili who also served as a former minister of Education said that the sum was spent between 2005 and last year mainly on salaries and allowances for legislators.
The leadership of the Senate, however, described the statement by the former minister as blackmail against the National Assembly.
But in a keynote address at the one-day dialogue session on the “Cost of governance in Nigeria”, Ezekwesili, said that “Since 2005, the National Assembly members alone have been allocated N1trillion,’’
While also lamenting that “82 per cent of Nigeria’s budgetary cost goes for recurrent expenditure, she said that banks earned N699billion as interests last year on loans secured by the government.
The former minister of Education, said that one of the greatest mistakes of the Olusegun Obasanjo administration under which she served twice as a minister was that Nigeria delved into democracy without necessarily doing away with a military mindset.
“There is a drawback to the military era. One major mistake of the government under which I served was that we simply got into democracy and did not spend reasonable time getting every citizen; every leader and every institution to do away with militaristic ethos and principles from their minds,” Ezekwesili added.
According to her, the social dilemma which the country currently finds itself would be overcome if stakeholders, especially lawmakers, consider part-time legislation as a means of bringing down the cost of governance.
Ezekwesili said while other countries were moving forward technologically, Nigeria was trapped by oil, a natural resource which it loses a revenue of about $1.6billion annually.
Victor Ndoma-Egba(SAN), Senate majority leader, said that t the National Assembly received far less than what the other arms of government were allocated in the national budget.
“I don’t know how she arrived at the figure. But what is allocated to the National Assembly is known to the public. In the last four years, the National Assembly has been allocated N150billion, which has been the highest since 1999. It is another attempt to blackmail the National Assembly” he insisted
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