By Ishaya Ibrahim, News Editor
Nigeria should operate a unicameral legislature, says Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State.
The governor, who wants the senate scrapped to make room for only the House of Representatives, wants states to be equally represented in the legislature, unlike the current practice where the numbers are allocated according to the size of the population.
The governor also suggested that lawmaking should be part time, while lawmakers paid allowances for the time they seat.
Akeredolu made the suggestions at the Southwest Zonal Public Hearing of the House of Representatives on the Review of the 1999 Constitution.
The governor was represented by his Deputy, Lucky Aiyedatiwa, at the public hearing.
He said: “The membership of the Assembly should be part time. No member should earn allowances not known to the Revenue Mobilisation and Allocation Committee, and the people they claim to serve.
“Legislators should earn under a uniform salary structure. Allowance peculiarities must not be about obscenity. The Senate should be scrapped.
“The House of Representatives too should not be unwieldy. A maximum of four representatives should come from each Zone.
“Nobody must be shut out; all must be treated equally. All decisions must be anchored on the principles of Equity and Justice.
“Ministries, departments and agencies must be pruned to reflect the socio-economic realities of the moment.
“The government at the centre must divest itself of this self-inflicted heavy burden, for effective and impactful performance”