Abuja: The Senator representing Borno South Senatorial District, Senator Ali Ndume has suggested that the Federal Government should slash the salaries of Nigerian Federal legislators, from both the Senate and the House of Representatives by 50% in order to have funds to settle the outstanding entitlements of university lectures and other ASUU demands.
Ndume noted that “as a matter of priority and as a public servant in the legislative chambers, we don’t work; so why don’t you just give us half salary and then pay ASUU.
“It is high time they resolved the issue once and for all even if they have to borrow or make supplementary budgets.
“We are budgeting 20.5 trillion for 2023, I don’t see any reason why the government will not budget one trillion to address the lingering challenges of the education sector including ASUU strikes.
“Eight months, student were at home doing nothing and they are the public and we are the public servants. In the budget of 2023, the overhead is 43 per cent.
“If you can spend N8.3trillion on public servants why don’t you spend N1trillion in public universities.”
Ndume admitted that some of those representing the government in the negotiations with ASUU do not have children in public universities.
He said, “How can you be talking about something that you have no stake in? I don’t have a child in public schools, all my children are schooling outside the country; most politicians are like that too and they are the ones negotiating.
“With this, to me, we will not get anywhere. Even if we got somewhere it will be temporary because other people will be playing to the gallery.
“Some of them will be claiming to be defending the interest of the Federal Government and the others will be pretending to be defending the interest of the masses and at the end they are only playing to the gallery.
