Ndume emphasized the need for urgent fiscal discipline amid rising recurrent expenditure and dwindling employment rates.
The lawmaker representing Borno South in the Senate, Ali Ndume has called on President Bola Tinubu to reduce the size of his cabinet to cut the cost of governance.
During an interview on Arise TV, Ndume emphasized the need for urgent fiscal discipline amid rising recurrent expenditure and dwindling employment rates.
Ndume noted that recurrent expenditure keeps increasing while the employment rate is decreasing, adding that this is not the first time he has made this suggestion to the Federal Government.
The lawmaker, vocal about governance reforms, noted that reducing the cabinet size would reflect a more efficient approach to addressing the nation’s economic challenges.
He argued that lowering the cost of governance would free up resources for critical areas like job creation and social welfare.
When asked if the President should sack more ministers, Ndume said, “I don’t want you to put me on the spot. What I’m saying is that he has made quite significant moves expected by Nigerians, but it’s not quite enough. It should be a continuous process, and it should also be an expanded process. What I mean by that is that, I don’t know how they arrived at the numbers sacked or relieved of their posts.
“Constitutionally, you have one minister from each state, and in this government, more ministers were nominated. In fact, we had the highest number.
The President himself recognized the need to reduce the cost of governance, and that means or calls for inwardly looking into the number too, because what the Constitution says is that the minimum is 37, one per state, and then one additional one.
“The President needs to at this time, look inwards to see whether we can just prune down the number. But now, he released some and brought in new ones. The number is still up there. So, it’s not a matter of it’s not a personal thing.
“It’s just maybe my own opinion, and that may make sense and contribute towards good governance. And not only that, the cost of governance should be brought down, all other agencies of government are doing the same. The focus for now, is on the presidency and the National Assembly, but it should be across board.
“There are some organizations that are not visible, but the cost implication of running those agencies is enormous, right! So I recommend pruning the system and reducing the cost of governance. This is not the first time I have cried out.
“If you look at the budget, the recurrent expenditure keeps going up, and the rate of employment is going down, so it doesn’t balance now that the President is looking around, I think he should look deep into it and reduce the cost of governance across board.”