Inflated cost of governance has been a problem bedeviling the country for many years. Like many other malaise bogging the nation, everybody seems to know how to come out of the quagmire but the willingness to do the needful is in great lack.
In the recent past, many had warned that with the growing number of ministers, lawmakers, senior special advisers, over bloated workforce and so on, the country was headed for an economic doom as almost all the nation’s resources will be used in maintaining public offices.
Shortly after his election, President Muhammadu Buhari alluded to this fact. He said, “Over 90% of Nigeria’s budget is on recurrent expenditure. There must be much money available for capital expenditure to provide more infrastructure for our industries that will attract investment and develop the country”. Nigerians, therefore, expected to see a different thing in Buhari’s new cabinet but incidentally, that expectation is yet to be met. The number of ministers has gone from 36, claimed to be stipulated by the constitution, to 42 presently with many irrelevant ministries. Though the president recently restricted travelling and estacodes of his ministers and bureaucrats, reducing their foreign trips to not more than two in a quarter, the exponential increase in his and his deputy, Yemi Osinbajo’s travel cost from N1.3 billion in this year’s N8.9 trillion budget to a proposed N3.3billion budget in the 2020 Appropriation Bill before the National Assembly, casts doubt on the sincerity of the president to solve the problem.
The story is not different in the states where some governors engage in wasteful spending without recourse to the developmental needs of their people. Just two days ago, we read the news about Ebonyi State Governor, David Umahi’ s purchase of 68 sport utility vehicles (SUVs) for his aides. These are people who, most likely, already have personal vehicles or even official vehicles to move around with. Record shows that Ebonyi State is sitting uncomfortably as the 7th poorest state in the country, and number one in the South East. Why then wouldn’t the chief executive of such a poor state be thinking of how to pull it out of poverty rather than pleasing a handful of persons?
In some other states, the governors and their families live very large. They travel abroad as if they are going to the next community; in the governors’ entourage are numerous exotic cars, yet the public schools, hospitals, roads and other few existing infrastructure are in sorry states. From year to year, the budgets of these states are never made public, so the governors spend the states’ fund however they want.
The truth is that if we are serious about wanting to reduce the cost of governance both at the federal, state and local government levels, our leaders should ensure that the change sincerely begins with them, not a situation where they live like kings and queens, but demand prayers from the suffering masses while at the same time tax and levy them heavily.
The former Governor of Imo State and now senator, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, recently suggested a reduction in the number of lawmakers as a way of reducing considerably, the cost of administering the nation. Speaking while contributing to the debate on the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) preceding the 2020 Budget at plenary, and proposed a cut in the number of legislative representation for each state at the National Assembly to only one senator and three House of Representatives members. Okorocha, who is the chairman, Senate Committee on Culture and Tourism, noted that the reduction from each state will help cut cost and ensure effective representation. He reasoned that what three senators and several Reps members can do for a state (currently), the four lawmakers he is advocating can do even better (if they are serious about representing the interests of their constituents).
“We can’t keep doing the same thing and expect different thing to happen… There is need for constitutional amendment. Rather than engaging many people in politics, we can have few in the National Assembly while others can venture into other sectors… I will present a bill on it based on the mood of the National Assembly. Whether it starts now or later, we must do things differently”, Okorocha argued.
On the other hand, the Governor of Ekiti State, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, rather advocated the scrapping of the Senate as a way of cutting cost and reducing the financial burden on government. If you ask me, there are no better suggestions than these when it comes to dealing with the extremely high cost of running the National Assembly. According to this newspaper’s editorial of October 14, 2019, “Every well-meaning Nigerian agrees that the allocation of N125 billion (previously N150 billion) is annoyingly unreasonable for 469 lawmakers in a country where that same amount constitutes the budget of no fewer than two states, with a combined population of about 10 million. This is even more disturbing when it is realised that the country has N10.3 trillion in the 2020 national budget just submitted by President Muhammadu Buhari to the lawmakers to provide infrastructure in 36 states plus FCT and other services for over 195.6 million people”
Also, in tackling this national problem considered as a bane to the country’s development, it is important we go back to the commendations of the Mr. Steve Oronsanya Committee on Rationalisation of Federal Government’s Parastatals, Commissions and Agencies. The committee, set up by the Federal Government and headed by the former Head of Service, had recommended the scrapping of 38 agencies, merging of 52 and reversal of 14 to departments in the ministries from which they were carved out. This move, according to the committee, would save billions of naira for the nation if carried out.
Indeed, reducing the cost of governance will do the country some immensurable good, but there should be a holistic approach to it. It should not be a burden to be borne by only the workforce. Both the leaders and the led have sacrifices to make.

Calista Ezeaku