NASS aides protest non-payment of salaries, allowances

•Accuses management of depriving them of trainings

By Christiana Ekpa

National Assembly legislative aides working with Senators and members of House of Representatives yesterday staged protest over non-payment of two month salaries and over three years DTA.
The aides equally accused National Assembly management of depriving the legislative aides of training, despite provision in the annual budget of the National Assembly.
Abasi Etuk, who spoke on behalf of over 3,000 Legislative Aides, disclosed that they were denied their salaries since on the 15th of August which was the eve of Sallah.
He added, “Now, today is the 9th of October and we have children and school fees to pay but we have not received our salaries yet.”
According to him, since the resumption of the 8th session, the management has failed to pay the DTA worth over N1 million per legislative aide.
“We thought we have a leadership that could protect our interests but now we know that we don’t have anyone,” Etuk said, thereby, passing vote of no confidence on the Executive of the Legislative Aides Association.
He argued that the Legislative Aides may also be denied the severance allowances if the current situation persists unchecked.
According to him, each of the Legislative Aide is entitled to N75,000 and N100,000 monthly.
A female aide who narrated her ordeal, displayed hospital bills which she paid for, adding that most of them have no money to pay for the children’s school fees.
The aggrieved staff also chanted various solidarity songs, vowed to sustain the protest until all the outstanding allowances are paid:
‘We don’t trust SunTrust Bank. We are aides not slaves; ‘Omolori pay us our money and budgeted entitlements’; ‘We are Aides not Slaves,’ ‘No retreat no surrender’; ‘DTA’s have not been paid since 2015! Why, we are Aides not slaves’, among others.
While the protest continues, Speaker Yakubu Dogara and his deputy, Yussuff Lasun walked into the chambers.