You heard ‘prorogue’ first just three weeks ago. Nigeria also needs Bills to Prorogue [suspend/cancel] senate or House of Representatives to force a partial NASS suicide for economic savings of N100b+ and quick political parliamentary action -a ‘change’ situation.
The NLC has forced the federal government into a pay agreement. All federal employees including politicians up to president require to be on the ‘Single National Pay Spreadsheet’.
The NLC ignored an opportunity to fight for 1] Political office holders to be on levels up to Level 23-25 for President. 2] Political ‘Salaries and Perks’ be reduced, and 3] Introduce ‘Pay Reduction Reforms’ in the criminally outrageous ‘Political Pay and Pension Structure’.
The NLC seems to have joined a political class least committed to the ‘Nigeria Dream and Project’ even though politicians are among the highest paid political officials worldwide.
Strategically, the NLC, like NASS rejects its vital contribution to the Nigerian Dream, except on pay structure matters. Worldwide, the workers have checkmated unbridled politicians. Remember Lech Walesa and the Solidarity strikes in Gdansk in Poland? It is Nigeria’s turn for fast change.
United, the big unions can force foot-dragging politicians to 1] Restructure salaries and 2] Restructure the country. How dare NASS repeatedly take N125-150b for 469 [109+360] NASS members? ASUU and the NMA are strong unions which must harness their intellectual power towards national issues including protesting almost criminally negligent poor FG budget for 1]Education and 2] Health totally just N94b which dangerously threatens the physical and mental capacity for knowledge acquisition of ‘A Healthy Mind In A Healthy Body’ of all youth nationwide. Beyond conference communiques ‘falling of deaf political ears’, did ASUU or the NMA cry out at this imminent failure of good governance?
ASUU voice is strangely silent. Perhaps because of the can of worms of ASUU lecherous lecturers and prostituting professors, performing and receiving academic sexual favours matching Harvey Weinstein’s horror Hollywood stories. This sex for marks, demanded by treacherous teachers or offered by entrapping students, is ancient and modern. Make use of ASUU ‘Think Tanks’ capacity and the NLC to ‘Restructure Themselves’ and strategize to cut the cost of government.
Ask why no politician since 1999 from any party has rejected the Salaries and Perks ‘seized’ from the budget. One day, NLC’s conditions for accepting a new pay deal will include a cut in NASS ‘Salaries and Perks’, numbers and houses. Government will never downsize itself -political suicide or Hara-kiri.
Politicians do not mind if you kill or die during elections but are not, so far, nationalistic enough to self-sacrifice and commit political suicide for the greater good.
The Buhari government has cut trips by ministers and seated them in business class. Hurray! It will save a few million naira, but loopholes must be blocked. The Buhari government has submitted to NASS a law increasing VAT to 7.5%, up from 5% punishing the poor further. Buhari conveniently ‘forgot’ to add a ‘VAT Formula Modification’ clause to the Bill to correct the corrupt VAT Distribution Formula. No to more ‘VAT Robbery’ of high VAT states to criminally enrich VAT-less states. The IMF was silent on this discriminatory aspect of VAT. The IMF should always sniff around and research the secret agendas of Nigerian ‘wonder’ policies.
The President has ordered a forensic audit of NDDC. Good. Please add the Amnesty Programme and the IDP funding. Four years late as he would have saved NDDC billions and seen more projects completed by now. Where the President’s party’s Restructuring Policy Bill ensuring devolving functions and funds to the State and LGA level? Where is the government’s ‘NASS Downsizing Bill’?
Buhari’s ‘change’ manta leadership is wearing thin. Police are still taking bribes at checkpoints – stopped easily by suspending/sacking the supervising DPO or CP in affected states or the IGP. The infamous Aso Rock ‘kitchen cabinet’ should ‘breakfast with Buhari’ on bills needing immediate delivery by the federal government or its party members to the NASS. The citizens are tired of dying for policies and politics and politicians, it is time for the politicians to work or die, politically-speaking, for the good of the citizens and Nigeria. A season of political suicide is better than Nigeria’s murder. Let the following bills be presented and re-presented until they are passed….
1] Bill to downsize NASS and convert the bicameral house to one house -Senate or HOR
2] Bill to Prorogue Senate without Compensation [WC].’ or
3] Bill to prorogue House of Representatives WC.’
4] Bill to elect only one senator per state in a new 37-member Senate’.
5] Bill to reduce HOR membership to one member per state.
6] Bill to have NASS members’ fully funded including house and allowances and any pension’ by their states of origin.
7] Bill to allow for ‘Sitting Allowances Only’ for NASS members, paid by the state of origin.
8] Bill to Restructure Nigeria by restructuring exclusive and concurrent list.
Let’s start the ‘Bill Ball’ rolling. NASS Bills take years. It will sound like a joke until suddenly it is serious, and we succeed. Only when politicians stop laughing will the citizens begin to laugh.
The only permanent thing is change. Worldwide arrogant corrupt presidents and ministers are jailed, and parliaments are reduced as political and economic necessities. President Buhari, self-styled ‘Mr Change’: Worldwide harmful traditions and customs like Female Genital Mutilation are being eliminated before their cancer destroys the country. Our cancerous 1999 constitution and NASS need ‘change’.
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