By Leshi Adebayo
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has said the National Assembly spends less than 2% of the national budget, wondering why there are no questions asked about the remaining 98%.
Gbajabiamila reacted to a statement made by the Vice-Chancellor of Ahman Pategi University, Patigi, Kwara state, Professor Mahfouz Adedimeji, saying Nigeria runs the most expensive National Assembly globally.
Speaking at the 10th annual symposium of the Muslim Students Society of Nigeria, B-Zone, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Adedimeji stressed the need to rejig the operations of the legislature in Nigeria, stating that the nation’s parliament is the most expensive all over the world.
“With due respect to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nigeria spends the highest amount of money on the legislators in the world and the National Assembly consumes more money than any other parliament in the world.
“A unicameral legislature with two representatives from each state is sufficient. The National Assembly should have less than 100 members, including Abuja,” he said.
But, Gbajabiamila disagreed with the Vice-Chancellor utterly, saying the latter’s perception is wrong.
The Speaker represented as the Chairman of the occasion by Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka of Ifo/Ewekoro constituency, stated that the funds allocated to the National Assembly was two%of the total national budget.
He said, “No one till today has actually sat down to go into research and define the meaning of legislators.
“The money being spent on the national assembly is less than two per cent of the total budget of this country; but nobody, has ever looked at what is happening to the remaining 98 per cent. And when you say National Assembly, you are not talking about legislators, who are the lawmakers only. You are also talking about the National Assembly Commission, you are talking about everything, all encompassing.”
Meanwhile, he implored Nigerians to change the notion that Nigeria runs the world’s most expensive National Assembly.
