The second Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Monday Ubani, has stated that the current crop of Nigerian senators have rendered that legislative body useless, justifying calls for the abolition of the red chamber.
The lawyer made the point in an interview.
While acknowledging that the legislature is paramount in any democratic society, he said that Nigerian senators had not lived up to the expectation, adding that they show no respect for the Nigerians they were elected to represent.
“We have discovered over time that the Senate has not been people-friendly,” said the lawyer. According to him, senators had not fulfilled the mandate given to them by Nigerians. He added that many senators frequently work against the interest of Nigerians to the level of impunity. He said Nigerians now think, “Why must we keep [the Senate] and at what cost?”
He regretted that Nigeria spends a huge amount as allowances to the senators, yet the senators’ output hardly justifies the yearly investment in them. “It is becoming unbearable, and so Nigerians are saying must we continue with this. That is the reason Nigerians are taking a second look at the issue of Senate, second chamber, and saying it is not necessary,” Mr. Ubani said.
He added, “I won’t say [the Senate] is not necessary. It is necessary, but what is their input? Have they justified the amount of money we are spending on them? What are the laws they are making in the interest of the people? What are the policies they are laying down in the interest of the people? They are necessary, but the people there have not made it look useful to us.”
He said that, considering the cost to maintain the Senate and the low output by senators, “we can do away with them and get ourselves contented with one chamber.” He added that many Nigerian senators continue to act with impunity, and disregard the plight of the people. “They have not justified the reason they are there. They have not justified how much we are putting in, in terms of taking care of them,” he said.
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