Parliamentary Workers Shut Down State Assemblies

Members of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria across the country yesterday barricaded the gates to state Houses of Assembly, denying lawmakers from accessing the chambers.

This followed the expiration of the ultimatum given to the federal government for the implementation of financial Autonomy in legislative houses in the country.

Speaking with journalists during the commencement of the nationwide industrial action on Monday, chairman of PASAN, Edo State chapter, Umaru Farouk Haruna, said the national president of PASAN, Comrade Mohammed Usman, had directed all chairmen and secretaries to mobilise their members for maximum compliance in the protest.

He added that the nationwide peaceful protest was being complied with by members of PASAN in Edo State after the expiration of the two-day ultimatum given the government and governors of the 36 states to implement autonomy in all legislative Houses in the country, which was further extended by one week and ended on October 27, 2023.

Haruna stated: “The issue of Autonomy is a constitutional matter. You know it has been passed by the national Assembly and was assented to by the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari.

“All we need is for the government to start implementation. But as we speak today, nothing has been done. The 36 state Houses of Assembly, you can call them rubber stamps. They are not on their feet simply because they are not autonomous. We are not just fighting for the staff of legislators; we are fighting to deepen the dividends of democracy for Nigerians”.

In Akwa Ibom, the 26 lawmakers of the state House of Assembly, aides and other officials, including security personnel, were yesterday stranded, as angry workers under the aegis of PASAN called out its members to join the ongoing strike by the national body over sundry issues bordering on staff welfare.

Speaking with LEADERSHIP, Hon Jerry Otu, chairman of the House Committee on Information, who lamented that the activities of the Assembly have been crippled by the strike, explained that the action was in solidarity and adherence to the directive of the national executive of the association.

In the same vein, chairman of the state branch of PASAN, Miss Uduak Ebong Okon, explained that the solidarity protest became necessary to impress on the state government to heed to some key demands of the association.

She listed them to include financial autonomy, legislative duty allowance, legislative salary structure, outfit allowance, PASAN legislative week and staff training.

In Nasarawa, members of the state chapter of PASAN yesterday joined their counterparts nationwide, as they embarked on an indefinite strike, shutting down the State House of Assembly complex.

Chairman of the association, Suleiman Oshafu, told journalists in Lafia that the strike was an extension of their ongoing struggle for financial autonomy for the legislative arm which began in 2020.

Oshafu said that the strike was total, just as he urged the state governors to do the needful by implementing financial autonomy for state Houses of Assemblies.

Also, the Gombe State chapter of PASAN yesterday shut down the state House of Assembly and staged a peaceful demonstration in support of autonomy for the legislature.

Briefing journalists at the gate of the state House of Assembly, the state chairman of the association, Mohammed Bello Dukku, said the measure was the only option considering  the fact that the federal government failed to obey section 121 (3a) of the 1999 constitution, which provides for legislative autonomy.

He said the assembly would remain closed indefinitely and all staff of the assembly would be at home pending further directive from the association.

Other demonstrators said their agitation for autonomy to states Houses of Assembly was to strengthen democracy so that lawmakers can represent the masses effectively and protect their interests.

Our correspondent reports that members of the association, in their hundreds, carried some placards with different inscriptions in support of autonomy and chanting solidarity songs.

In Benue State, members of PASAN stopped the Speaker, Aondona Dajoh, other principal officers, members and staff of the state assembly from gaining access into the Assembly Complex.

Addressing the protesters, Dajoh said he has thrown his weight behind the clamour for granting financial autonomy to State Houses of Assembly in the country.

Speaking further, the Benue Speaker who is also the North Central national vice chairman of Forum of Speakers explained that the issue of financial autonomy for state legislatures has become a constitutional matter that should be complied with in order to strengthen the operations of the legislature at the state level.

He however expressed optimism that from the outcome of the recent dialogue between the leadership of the Conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly and PASAN, the industrial dispute may not last, even as he commended members of the association for being peaceful in their agitations.

The chairman of PASAN, Benue State House of Assembly chapter, Comrade Francis Adole, said the industrial action was meant to compel state governors to comply with the constitutional provision which granted financial autonomy to State Houses of Assembly.

He noted that such autonomy will allow the state legislatures to be more independent to perform their lawful duties of checking the excesses of the other arms of government among many others.