Workers in all 36 state and national assemblies claim to have finalized plans to lock up their workplaces while waiting for their demands for the legislative branch of government’s financial autonomy to be met.
According to the Daily Trust, the employees are requesting that state governors immediately begin implementing financial autonomy for state assemblies in accordance with the 1999 Constitution. This demand is being made under the auspices of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN).
Recall how parliamentary staffers frequently staged numerous street protests to drive home their demands.
The employees said that they had previously given a 21-day strike warning in separate letters they addressed to the heads of the Department of State Services (DSS), the Nigerian Governors Forum, and the Forum of Speakers. Copies of these letters were obtained by our correspondent.
The letters, which were written by the acting secretary general of PASAN, Agugbue Ugochi Happiness, contended that the governors’ failure to implement the financial autonomy as stipulated in the constitution made their decision to shut down the legislative branches of government necessary.
Happy informed the media on Monday after delivering the letters that the union had set an ultimatum on September 18, 2023, and that the governors had ignored it up until its expiration.
“We refer to our letters dated 18th September, 2023 and 7th of October, 2023 on 21 days ultimatum to embark on industrial action if financial autonomy is not implemented in the State Houses of Assembly nationwide by Wednesday October 18th 2023 and hereby inform you that the leadership of our great union has further extended the ultimatum by one week.
“We, therefore, hope that the extension would further avail ample opportunity to meet the demands of the union and avert the available industrial action.
“We hereby reiterate the union’s preparedness to direct the members to embark on the proposed strike action if its demands are not yielded to,” the letter partly read.
