Premium News
Senator Ali Ndume, former Chief Whip of the Senate and representative of Borno South, says Nigeria could save billions of naira annually by adopting a part-time legislative system for federal lawmakers.
Speaking on Channels Television on Thursday night, Ndume said the financial burden of maintaining the National Assembly in its current full-time structure is unsustainable, especially at a time the country is battling severe fiscal and security pressures.
“The cost of governance is too high. If lawmakers sit part-time, government will save billions,” he said, arguing that the savings could be redirected to defence, security, and other critical national priorities.
Ndume linked the high cost of governance to broader challenges affecting the country’s ability to respond effectively to insecurity.
He said Nigeria cannot afford wasteful spending when it is confronted with insurgency in the North-East, banditry in the North-West and North-Central, widespread kidnappings, and rising violent crimes.
As part of his broader cost-cutting advocacy, the senator criticised the continued presence of large police escorts attached to senators and other VIPs despite President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s recent directive withdrawing security personnel from such assignments.
The President had directed Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun to recall officers from VIP protection duties and redeploy them to frontline security operations.
“But up till now, senators are still overcrowded with policemen,” Ndume said, urging the IGP to ensure full compliance with the presidential order.
He argued that redeploying police officers from VIP protection to community and operational duties would boost national security far more than assigning them to individuals.
Ndume said the country’s security architecture is stretched and requires “every available hand,” stressing that thousands of officers remain tied to politicians and influential citizens who could function without such heavy escort arrangements.
According to him, realigning national priorities is essential for Nigeria’s economic recovery, internal stability and investor confidence.
He maintained that cutting governance costs—including through a part-time legislature and reduction of VIP security deployments—would not only save funds but also allow government to reinvest in critical areas such as equipment, logistics and personnel welfare for security forces.
He called on President Tinubu and police authorities to act swiftly to implement ongoing reforms, insisting that officers must return to their constitutional role of protecting the general public rather than individuals.
