Governor Rotimi Akeredolu of Ondo State has suggested the scrapping of the Senate in the new Constitution being planned.
Besides scrapping the Senate, Akeredolu also wants the National Assembly should be on a part-time basis to reduce the cost of governance.
The governor made these observations at the Akure Centre of the South-West Zonal Public Hearing on the review constitution, which was held at the International Cultural and Event Centre, Akure, the state capital, on Tuesday.
“The position of the Ondo State Government has been made public. We advocate for a Federal Government largely reduced in size and scope of engagement. We want to see a Constitution that will enhance the performance of public office holders at all levels,” Akeredolu said through his Deputy, Aiyedatiwa, who represented him at the event.
“It is possible to have a government that will serve the people in deed and truth. The law of the land must aid this realistic expectation. We must reduce the cost of governance and shift attention to service delivery in this trying period.”
“The country may consider dropping the current bicameral structure of the National Assembly and adopt a unicameral legislature. The membership of the Assembly should be part-time. No member should earn allowances not known to the Revenue Mobilisation and Allocation Committee and, more importantly, the people they claim to serve.
According to the governor, the nation’s 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.”
On the State’s position on the review, Akeredolu listed the creation of state police, devolution of powers, state control of resources, decentralization of supreme court among others as Ondo’s demands.
