The Presidential candidate of Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the February 25 poll, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has advised President Bola Tinubu to examine the cost of governance and the value that a Minister brings to the government.
The renowned lawyer, who spoke to newsmen in Abuja at the weekend, said Nigeria needs to reduce corruption to overcome its multifaceted challenges.
“We need to assess the average cost of a minister and the value that minister contributes to the government. In theory, reducing the cost of government is beneficial, but for Nigeria, the focus should be on reducing corruption.
“Even if the country has 37 ministers, what happens when they become contractors and embezzle public funds? When National Assembly members establish companies and pursue contracts within the NDDC and MDAs, they supervise and manipulate the budget.”
Speaking about the bloated agencies and parastatals, he said, “This is what I refer to as establishment cost, which I now call the establishment curse. It’s a recurring mistake we make.
“When they discover malaria in a specific River Basin Authority and want to address it, they create a Malaria Control Agency instead of establishing a unit within that River Basin Authority for the temporary project. They created these offices that exist indefinitely.”
