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National Assembly aides protest against non-payment of allowances

By Otei Oham and Segun Olaniyi, Abuja
25 October 2016   |   2:18 am
Staffers of the National Assembly are protesting against the delay in the payment of their allowances by the Assembly’s management.

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Staffers of the National Assembly are protesting against the delay in the payment of their allowances by the Assembly’s management.

Carrying green-white-green Nigerian flag and placards at the entrances of the sprawling complex to express their grievances, the protesters, who were at the gate in their number as early as 9:00am called on management of the assembly to settle all their outstanding allowances or face rebellion.

The protesters said they have compiled a formal complaint letter to the Clerk of the National Assembly, Muhammed Sani-Omolori.

“The reason why we are doing the letter late is due to the crisis rocking our leadership- National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum (NASSLAF). Two groups are currently contesting the control of the association,” said one of the aides, who preferred not to be named.

He explained that the assembly management was specifically owing the aides Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) for the first three quarters of this year, plus the last quarter of the last assembly.

Most Senior Legislative Aides (SLA) in the two chambers of the National Assembly are yet to receive their 28 Days Allowance, usually given them in their first month in the service to cover transportation, documentation and processing of relevant documents, according to the source.
The source said the commission fixed N250, 000 as amount for the allowance for each of the 2,345 aides in Senate and House of Representatives.

Another aide, who also participated in the protest, Taiwo Olaniyan regretted that the issue was being shrouded in secrecy as each time NASSLAF approached management on the matter, they would always be told that the allowances have been released accordingly for payments.

In his reaction, National Assembly Director of Information and Publications, Ishaku Dibal said the delay in the payments of the allowances was unfortunate and attributed it to the epileptic flow of funds to the legislature.

“It is a major factor and it is affecting every aspect of the economy. Therefore, it calls for patience on the part of every Nigerian.

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