Some politicians on Sunday in Lagos expressed divergent views over the call for lawmakers in Nigeria to be part-time functionaries in order to reduce the cost of governance.
Former Minister of Education, Mrs Oby Ezekwesili, had on Aug. 19, suggested that legislators should serve on a part-time basis to reduce the cost of governance.
She told to a gathering of civil society organisations in Abuja that the National Assembly had gulped over N1 trillion in about eight years to the detriment of the nation’s economic development.
Mr Godfrey Lemchi, the Chairman, Lagos Chapter of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), said that the call for part time legislation was a welcome development.
He argued that part time legislation would not impede check on the executive arm.
According to him, remuneration and allowances of legislators have eaten deep into the economy without commensurate contribution and productivity from many of the members.
“It is often observed many do not show up for the 180 days sitting constitutionally demanded, hence empty seats usually seen and yet they are paid for doing nothing.
“When legislation becomes a part-time work, they will be entitled to seating allowances based on presence.
“More so, legislators working on part-time basis will attract quality minds with passion to making quality laws for moving the country forward, “ he said.
However, Chief Olatunji Shelle, the Lagos State Chairman of the PDP, disagreed that legislation should be on part-time basis.
“I do not think that part-time legislation will serve a good purpose in a nascent democracy like ours.
“We need to develop the institution to a very high level to be able to justify the clamp down on the clamour for sovereign national conference.
“The legislators of my dream need to be knowledgeable, vast and well exposed to be able to transform Nigeria.”
He therefore, advised Nigeria to adopt what he described as “one serious and carefully selected legislative house made up of committed and disciplined men and women of substance and integrity”.
Chief Winston Odum-Ojobi, the Deputy National Chairman of the de-registered United Nigeria Peoples Party (UNPP), argued that full time legislation was a waste of the nation’s resources.
“I am one of those clamouring for part-time parliamentarians; even in America, legislation is not on full time, they sit when they have to sit.
“We have so many ministers and permanent secretaries and almost about 300 directors in Nigeria; so what are the parliamentarians doing? It is just a waste of the country’s resources.”
Odum-Ojobi, therefore, suggested that Nigeria should operate one house that would cover all the ethnic nationalities.
The National Chairman, Peoples Progressive Party (PPP), Mr Damian Ogbonna, said having a full-time legislation in a democracy was important, hence dissolving the two houses into one would be risky.
“Having a lower and an upper house in a democracy is very important because it will check the excesses of dictatorship of the legislature.
“Therefore, the upper house needs to be on part-time legislation but the lower house which does the regular business of legislation should be full-time,“ he said.
Ogbonna called for a proper restructuring of the National Assembly and an amendment of the constitution to allow for the upper house serve as a superintendent to the lower house.
