Borno South Senator Ali Ndume has called on the Federal Government to scale down certain discretionary services, including activities of the National Assembly, to channel more funds towards addressing the escalating insecurity across the country.
Ndume made the appeal on Thursday during an interview, where he proposed that lawmakers could convene less frequently, possibly every quarter, with remuneration adjusted to reflect the reduced sitting schedule.
According to him, Nigeria must cut spending on areas that do not directly benefit the majority of its citizens and instead prioritise public safety.
“Urgently, we must discard everything as far as I am concerned and even if it is necessary to shut down some discretionary services, starting with the National Assembly. You can cut it off and ask us to sit, maybe in a quarter, for example,” he said.
The longest-serving senator also expressed concern over ongoing recurrent and overhead expenditures despite the unsettled status of the 2025 budget.
“We sit for some time depending on the workload that we have, and are paid accordingly. And now, the 2025 budget is not running; we are in 2025, but the recurrent and overhead costs are running, and who is benefitting?
“Less than five per cent of Nigerians, and it is a lot of money. So, why don’t we shut down all these things and use the money to secure the people first,” he queried.