A member of the National Assembly, Senator Adamu Aleiro has stressed the need for high cost of governance to be slashed by 50 percent.
Aliero, who stated this on Thursday while speaking with newsmen at the State House, Abuja, after a ‘friendly visit’ to President Bola Tinubu, insisted that cost of governance, which takes about 70% of the national budget, is extremely high.
The ranking Senator, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Land Transportation, lauded the adoption of the Orosanye Report on Restructuring of the Public Sector, noted that the implementation of the report is long overdue, adding that it is very crucial to deflating the over-blown cost of governance.
According to him: “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 very glad if we can reduce the cost of governance by about 50% and then 50% of the budgeted amount should be used for capital development.
“So the National Assembly is certainly in support of the implementation of 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 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”.
Aleiro, who is representing Kebbi Central Senatorial District, also expressed optimism about Nigeria’s future, saying steps are being taken to address the nation’s security and economic challenges.
“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 .
Aliero, a chieftain of the opposition People’s Democratic Party (PDP), faulted insinuation that the cordiality between the executive and legislative arms of government are a disadvantage for Nigerians, saying it rather indicates that the nation has a responsible opposition.
His words: “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”.
Deji Elumoye in Abuja
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