Workers shut down Plateau Assembly over financial autonomy

Workers, under the aegis of Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), on Tuesday, shut down Plateau State House of Assembly Complex in protest against non-implementation of legislative financial autonomy.

Report says that the workers clad in their association’s robes, carried placards with different inscriptions and marched to the Legislature in the early hours.

Some of the inscriptions were: “grant assembly autonomy’’, “deepen democracy’’, “no autonomy for state assemblies, no legislation in Nigeria’’, “AGF implement Order 10’’, and “Constitution is superior’’.

Mrs Mary Komga, Chairman, Plateau chapter of PASAN, while addressing her colleagues at the assembly gate said that the move to shut down legislative activities was the last option they were left with.

“This action is necessitated by the non-implementation of financial autonomy to parliamentary staff in Nigeria.

“The autonomy is provided for in Nigeria Constitution, Section 121(3) and the Presidential Order 10, 2020, directed its implementation.

“Nothing was done since the presidential order. We wrote to concerned authorities demanding its implementation but there is no positive response.

“We gave them 21 days, 14 days and seven days ultimatum, respectively, but still they did not implement it.

“Three weeks ago, we protested to the National Assembly and informed them that if it was not implemented, we would shut down legislative activities in the country,” she said.

Komga told her colleagues that the assembly gate would remain closed untill something positive was done.

The chairman added, however, that they would only open the gate if they got a directive from the national secretariat of PASAN to do so.

She advised her colleagues to conduct themselves in a peaceful manner during the period that the action would last.