Chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transport in the 10th Senate, Senator Adamu Aliero has advocated for a deliberate reduction in cost of governance saying it must be slashed by 50 percent.
Aliero stated this after meeting with President Bola Tinubu at the Presidential Villa on Thursday in Abuja.
The Senator supported the implementation of the long-delayed Oronsaye report on restructuring the public sector, stating that it is long overdue and crucial for reducing Nigeria’s unsustainably high governance costs.
According to him, the cost of running the government has become “extremely high” – consuming over 70 percent of the national budget.
He said, “well, Oronsoye report implementation, has been long overdue because the cost of governance is getting extremely high to the extent that close to over 70% of whatever is budgeted goes into running government leaving only 30% for capital projects.
“This is not good for a developing country like Nigeria. I will be glad if we can reduce the cost of governance by about 50 percent and then 50 percent of the budgeted amount should be used for capital development.
“So the National Assembly is certainly in support of the implementation of the Oronsoye report and anybody who means well for Nigeria will certainly support the implementation of this report. It is a well-intentioned report. It should have been implemented a long time ago.
“The National Assembly is working hand-in-hand with the executive branch of the government. There is harmony. “There is a cordial relationship between the National Assembly and the executive arm and it will continue. As I said earlier, we are in support of the implementation of the Oronsoye report and what is whatever is required, in terms of legislation, the National Assembly will do it.
The senator emphasised that Nigeria has responsible opposition that is uncompromising lartys6 positions.
“We have a responsible opposition. Wherever the government is going wrong, we come and tell the government…it doesn’t mean cooperation means compromising your party’s stance,” Aleiro explained.
“From what I heard from Mr. President, I’m very optimistic that if we sustain what you have started with within a few months, the nation will be out of the woods,” he added.
Senator Aleiro also expressed optimism about Nigeria’s future after a recent meeting with President Tinubu, stating steps are being taken to address the nation’s security challenges and inflationary pressures.
Dominica Nwabufo
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