With the eighth national assembly winding down in June 2019, the workers under the umbrella Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) have picketed the senate and the House of Representatives chambers.
PASAN which began the picketing in the early hours of Tuesday said it was protesting against the non-implementation of the consolidated salary structure and unpaid allowances.
The protesting workers, who carried placards bearing various inscriptions said they there would be no let down in their resolve to disrupt legislative work.
Speaking in an interview with journalists, the chairman of PASAN, Mr. Bature Musa, said the staff were not in a faceoff with the lawmakers adding that the association wrote to the management of the national assembly “almost eight months ago and nothing seems to be happening.”
“National Assembly is a custodian of the law and we are not in this parliament to kick against the law. We are law-abiding citizens. Once it is 2 O’clock, we will return to our respective offices.
“The word ‘picketing’ does not prevent anybody from working; it is a message passed to the leadership of the National Assembly. And don’t forget, it is for a duration of between 9am and 2pm. Then, after that, everyone will return to work.
“We have not asked anybody not to go to their offices. What we had at the back of our minds when we set out was that when they come around, they will definitely find out what is happening, because we have written to them almost eight months ago and nothing seems to be happening. You will agree with me that they are almost on their way out and this is the best time for us to cry out loud because the whole world will know why we are embarking on this peaceful demonstration,” he said.
