Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has once again hammered the National Assembly over the cost of maintaining the institution.
On Thursday, he urged the federal government and the National Assembly to reduce the cost expended on payment of overheads and salaries.
Obasanjo made the call in Ibadan at the public presentation of “I am Kagara: I Weave the Sands of Sahara,” a book written by Mark Nwagwu, a retired professor of molecular biology.
He had called the lawmakers unarmed robbers in one of his speeches last year.
According to him, government spending on overheads, salaries and allowances currently would not help Nigeria’s socio-economic development.
“Ninety per cent of our revenue goes to pay overhead, allowances, salaries and not much is left for capital development,’ he said in his speech.
“It is even worse with the National Assembly; they are one of the highest paid legislatures in the world.
“We have 75 per cent of our population living in abject poverty, yet these people have refused to cut down their earnings.
“We must speak out to get corrected when we err; the behaviour and character of the National Assembly is one that should be condemned,” he said.
Concerning the indefinite strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Obasanjo urged the government to honour the agreement it entered into with the union.
“Maybe it is a lesson government will learn. Government allowed itself to be stampeded into signing agreement without full consultation with those within the government.
“Then, they run into the implementation of that agreement that has been signed; however, an agreement is an agreement and whoever is your agent who signed the agreement on your behalf, you are bound by it,” he said.
Set in contemporary Nigeria where terrorist organisations are threatening innocent residents in the Niger Delta and the North-east, the book is about a heroine; highlighting the difference a woman can make if given the needed support.
In her remarks, former Minister of Education Oby Ezekwesili urged Nigerians to offer the girl-child opportunity to excel by giving her equal right to education as her male counterpart.
“The greatest support a girl-child could have is that of a strong male who gives her a voice and is not afraid of her,” she said.