Nigerian Senator Proposes Part-Time Legislature, Gives Reason

• President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly have been urged to develop legislation that will legalise the part-time legislature system in the country
• Senator Orji Kalu said the part-time legislature at the state and federal levels would reduce the cost of governance
• The former Abia state governor claimed that senators are underpaid and receive “almost nothing” as salaries

Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro and government policy

FCT, Abuja - Senator Orji Kalu representing Abia North senatorial district in the national assembly has proposed an amendment to the constitution to allow lawmakers to function on a part-time basis.

Orji said federal and state lawmakers’ plenary should be reduced to four times a year.

He stated this in a viral video shared on his verified Facebook page on Sunday, July 21.

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Why Nigeria needs part-time legislature

The former governor of Abia state said the part-time legislature will reduce the cost of governance.

Kalu urged President Bola Tinubu and the National Assembly to develop legislation that will legalise the part-time legislature system in the country.

“I think it will be a very good idea if my colleagues and other members of the houses of assembly will agree that we can sit for three months and do constitutional amendment first from 2027 to sit three months.

“In three months, we sit for two weeks or three weeks, so we sit four times a year, and if there is any emergency, there will be emergency sitting, we can come to do a presidential bid on that basis and go back instead of sitting on a full-time basis.”

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The chairman of the Senate Committee on Privatisation said it should be extended to all the state houses of assembly in the country.

Kalu alleged that Nigerian senators are underpaid and receive “almost nothing” as salaries.

“We are being paid almost nothing in the Senate. I sit in the Senate, and when people discuss the salary of a senator and other people, I laugh because it’s nothing to write home about,”

Kalu speaks on declining Tinubu’s ministerial appointment

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that Senator Kalu said he declined a chance to become a cabinet member of President Tinubu.

He said he was approached by the federal government shortly after stepping down his senate presidency ambition.

The former governor said that he was the one who urged President Tinubu to pick any candidate of his choice in Abia state.

Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng

Source: Legit.ng