TheCable

Some aides to legislators in the national assembly have threatened not to allow the senate or house of representatives sit and conduct its legislative business unless their salaries and allowances are paid.

The protesters under the National Assembly Legislative Aide Forum (NASLAF) said that majority of them had not been paid their 28-day allowances after a year of being in the employ of national assembly, apart from other entitlements.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday, Ucho Kingsley, one of the protesters, said they were also entitled to periodic training programmes, but till date they had not been sent for such programmes.

“Today is the 12th day of the month and our salary has not been paid for the last month. Our entitlements such as transport allowance for five quarters of the year — this is since last year — have not been paid to us,” Kingsley said.

“It’s the same for our 28-day allowance, which has not been paid to most of us. We are entitled to training at least one each quota but till date, we have never been sent for training.

“Nobody has come to address us, nobody has come to speak to us. When we ask they give us excuses from the problem being from management or that person. All we want for our salaries to be paid on time, the same thing for our entitlements, which we are being owed.”

Also speaking, Yusuf Sherrif Modu said: “I don’t know why this discrimination exists despite the important role we play to senators and members of the house of representatives.

“Today’s protest is to tell management that enough is enough, next time we storm this place, we will not allow the speaker and the senate president enter the chambers until they address us.”