An Analysis of Cost of Governance and the Quest for Part-Time Legislature in Nigeria

EME; I.O; Dr.Hillary; I Ekemam; Emmanuel Iheanacho

Volume : IV, Issue : II, February - 2015

An Analysis of Cost of Governance and the Quest for Part-Time Legislature in Nigeria

Eme, I. O, Dr. Hillary, I Ekemam, Emmanuel Iheanacho

Abstract :

The debate concerning the workability of a bicameral legislature, coupled with the finance cost has been an ongoing one. The debate was again ought to the fore recently with a recommendation by delegates at the National conference for legislators to function on part–time basis, rather than the present full time. The delegates contended that this will drastically reduce cost of governance, which is already over bloated. Expectedly, the recommendation by the Standing Committee on Public Service chaired by a former Head of Service of the Federation, Ebele Okeke, got the approval of majority of delegates after a long debate. The jumbo salary being paid the country�s legislators, which ranked the highest in the world, according to a new study, has attracted sharp criticisms from Nigerians across the country, including economists and lawyers. A report by The Economist magazine revealed that Nigerian federal legislators with a basic salary of $189,500 per annum (N30.6m) were the highest paid lawmakers in the world. Quoting data from the International Monetary Fund and The Economist magazine of London, the study looked at the lawmakers� basic salary as a ratio of the Gross Domestic Product per person across countries of the world. According to the report, the basic salary (which excludes allowances) of a Nigerian lawmaker is 116 times the country�s GDP per person of $1,600. The $189,500 earned annually by each Nigerian legislator is estimated to be 52 per cent higher than what Kenya legislators, who are the second highest paid lawmakers, earned. As expected, the first salvo of condemnation to the recommendations came from the Senate where members of the opposition political parties rejected the proposal by the delegates. Senate Minority Leader, George Akume (APC, Benue North West), who addressed journalists on behalf of his colleagues, said: �Part–time legislature is not and can never be the answer to executive impunity and corruption in the country.� He argued that executive impunity was largely responsible for high cost of governance in Nigeria, stating that delegates to the confab do not �understand and appreciate what constituted elected offices, especially the legislative seats stand for in the governance of the country under democratic template.� This paper seeks to address the pros and cons of part–time legislature and its implications on the cost of governance in Nigeria. The paper concludes by positing that the logical corollary is a considerable cut down of salaries and perks of office that currently obtain. Amidst the abject poverty in the land, Nigerians can no longer tolerate a situation where a legislative clique feeds fat on the commonwealth.