Legislative aides on Tuesday threatened to shut down the National Assembly if their allowances of over N5.8billion were not paid before 25th September, 2018.
The National Assembly is expected to resume plenary on September 28.
The legislative aides issued their threat at the National Assembly lobby amidst the shout “we are aides and not slaves, pay us our entitlements.”
Chairman of the aggrieved aides, Comrade Sam Melaye insisted that the entitlements totaling over N5.8 billion, must be paid before resumption of the lawmakers this month.
He said that failure to pay them would lead to shut down of the National Assembly.
The entitlements, he said, included Duty Tour Allowances (DTA) which has not been paid to any them in the last three years (about N2billion) and training allowances which is about N1billion per year, totaling N3billion.
Melaye said, “By laid down procedures and yearly budgetary provisions of N250m on quarterly basis, each of the legislatives aides is expected to go for training on the template of capacity building the totality of which is N1bn per year but for the past three years, no category of the aides have been sent on any training , let alone , paid the required allowances”
He said that the aides under the aegis of National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum (ASSLAF) , have made concerted efforts to get the leadership of the National Assembly to the pay allowances without any response.
Though the Clerk to the Senate, Nelson Ayewoh, had audience with the aggrieved aides, the protesting aides returned to the lobby shouting “no retreat, no surrender.”
Credit: The Nation
Leave a Reply