By Akinwale Kasali
Former Governor of Imo State, Rochas Owelle Okorocha, representing Imo West Senatorial District in the Ninth Senate has lamented the cost incurred by the country to accommodate 109 Senators and 360 House of Representatives members. He described it as unnecessary and, a waste of resources.
The embattled Okorocha who is under the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, watch said that the cost the country incur in accommodating the large numbers of lawmakers from each state is enormous, urging that it should be reduced drastically.
He added that there should be one senator and three members of the House of Representatives from each state to cut the cost of governance.
“What (are) three senators doing that one senator cannot do?” Here, we have three senators per state. Over there, (House of Representatives), we have 360 eligible human beings. This country must begin to make sacrifices and cut down the cost of governance.”
Okorocha queried: “what has the Ninth Senate done, that is different from what the Eight Senate did, likewise at the House of Representatives.
“And if what we are doing today is similar to what we did in the 8th senate be rest assured the product will be the same.
And “Let’s proffer solutions and not create more problems for the executives. They are waiting for us. What do we have different to show?” Okorocha queried.
Okorocha furthermore added that, “The summary of what we have been talking about is money, we don’t have enough funds to support the needs of Nigerians, to create jobs and put food on the table of the common man.
“This problem arises from the fact that we depend on only one source of income which is crude oil, which consists of over 50% of our revenue and 90% of our foreign reserves, ad this oil is static.
“We should look inwards. Let us cut our clothes according to our materials, not our sizes. The budget of Nigeria is cut according to our size not the material available and according to the solution.”
