Obasanjo: NASS members among highest paid in the world

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday urged the Federal Government and the National Assembly to reduce  the cost expended on payment  of  overheads and salaries.
Obasanjo made the call  in Ibadan at the public presentation of a book entitled,  “  I am Kagara: I Weave the Sands of  Sahara,’’  written by  Mark Nwagwu, a retired  professor of  Molecular Biology.
The former president said that government spending on overheads, salaries and allowances in the face of the prevailing  economic situation would not boost  the socio-economic development of the country.
“Ninety per cent of our revenue goes to pay overhead, allowances, salaries and not much is left for capital development.
“ We are not going to develop this way and we will only have ourselves to blame.
“It is even worse with the National Assembly, they are one of the highest paid legislatures  in the world.
“We have 75 per cent of our population living in abject poverty, yet these people have refused to cut down their earnings.
“We must speak out to get corrected when we err, the behaviour and character of the National Assembly is one that should be condemned,” he said.
Reacting to the  ongoing indefinite strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Obasanjo  urged the government to honour the agreement it entered into with the union.
“I have seen this in government;  maybe it is a lesson government will learn. Government allowed   itself to be stampeded into signing agreement without full consultation with those within the government.
“Then,  they run into the implementation of  that agreement that has been signed;  however, an agreement is an agreement and whoever is your agent who signed the agreement on your behalf, you are bound by it,” he said.
In her remarks, Dr Oby Ezekwesili, a former Minister of Education, urged the  society to  offer  the girl-child opportunity  to excel by giving her  equal right  to education as her male counterpart.
“ I am Kagara”  is built around a female heroine; the book highlights the marked difference a woman can make if given the needed support.
“ The greatest support a girl-child could have is that of a strong male who gives her a voice and is not afraid of her,” she said.
The book was set in contemporary Nigeria where terrorist organisations are threatening innocent  residents  in the Niger Delta and the North-East.