By Saheed Ibrahim  & Dotun Ajayi

|

As Nigerians continued agitations for the restructuring of the country, some political scientists have called for part -time legislature at the federal and state levels so as to reduce cost of governance in the country.
This, they said, would bring a drastic reduction in the cost of governance, enhance effectiveness and ensure that right hands are engaged in steering the political ship of the country.
They also advocated for reduction in wages, allowances, emoluments and other benefits accruing to political offices in the country.
Those who spoke with The Hope include Professor of Political Science, Ekiti State University, EKSU, Prof Akinsola Agagu ,Prof Lanre Olu-Adeyemi of Adekunle Ajasin University and a legal practitioner, Max Oga .
Prof Agagu noted that financing two legislative chambers at the federal level at a time Nigeria is passing through economic difficulties brings constraints to the nation’s purse. He also posited that changing from a bicameral legislature to a unicameral may not address the high cost of running government in the country.
He said the funds accruing to the legislative arm of government must be reduced as a way to save cost, adding that this could be made possible by having part-time legislature.
According to him, “If we are talking about moving from bicameralism to unicameralism, that will reduce the number of practitioners, the number of people that will be elected and also those that will be on the payroll, but that may not automatically translate to a reduction in what is needed to service the National Assembly.”
“So, there will be no need for utility vehicles or all those allowances and money that they collect under the guise that they are legislating.
If we reduce the national assembly to unicameralism, that may just reduce what is on paper. If you want to scrap one, I don’t know the one we are going to scrap now, whether it is the Senate or the House of Representatives,” he said.
Prof Olu-Adeyemi said both unicameral and bicameral legislatures have their pros and cons, but insisted that what was needed in the system was discipline.
“The issue is not about unicameralism or bicameralism; I think it is the issue of discipline. We are operating a presidential system of government and it has its own modality.
“We are not operating parliamentary system of government. So, with the presidential system of government, the need for bicameralism is very important. They are operating that mode in America and you hardly hear them complaining that they should scrap one of the chambers.
“I think what matters is discipline. If we want to overhaul the system, it should be wholistic.
The don stated that Nigeria’s democracy is not expensive because of bicameral legislature, affirming that having two legislative chambers brings about checks and balances in the democratic system while unicameralism could lead to “rubber stamp legislature.”
He noted that the salaries, allowances and emoluments of political office holders across the three arms of government must be reduced as a way to cut down cost of running governments and not just focusing on the legislature alone.
“The legislature should normally be vibrant; the legislature should actually have a means of checking the executives. To have unicameral legislature in a presidential system would be worse than rubber stamp legislature. I think that is not the solution to the various issues that are wrong with the Nigerian political ànd economic systems,” he said.
Reacting to having part-time legislature, Prof. Olu-Adeyemi said the current situation in the country requires lawmakers to sit frequently.
“When is it not really necessary to make law? When is it not necessary to address the challenges in Nigeria? Today you talk of Boko Haram, tomorrow you talk of killer herdsmen, the following day you talk of bandits and all the rest.
“I think what really happen is that political positions should not be made too or over attractive to the extent that people will be selling their houses because they want to get there.
“If people want to serve their states and the country, they must be diligent, they must be up and doing. Everything must be streamlined that the budget of the National Assembly should not be bogus. It is like running a different government. The way it is being run in Nigeria today, if it is unicameralism legislature, it would still be expensive,” he said.
A legal practitioner, Max Ogar made case for the abolition of two legislative chambers in the country, saying the financial status of Nigeria could not cater for bicameral legislature.
His words: “I think it is high time Nigeria reconsidered its stance on bicameral legislature. Bicameral legislature is too expensive for Nigeria. A situation where you have 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives and all of them drawing salaries and allowances from the treasury is a huge drain on the nation’s economy.”
He added that unicameral is useful for emergency purpose and ease of control but expressed doubt if the current legislators were ready to review the constitution in this regard.
While noting that bicameral legislature has many advantages in a democratic system, he opined that running two legislative chambers was draining Nigeria’s finance.