Aides of lawmakers in the National Assembly on Tuesday staged a peaceful demonstration to demand for the payment of their unpaid allowances.
The protest coincides with the resumption date of the lawmakers who had been on recess for about ten weeks.
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Carrying placards with different inscriptions, the aides under the aegis of the National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum, NASSLAF, demonstrated at the lobby of the National Assembly complex.
Speaking to journalists, the president of the group, Nyakari-Abasi Etuk, said the aides had been impoverished and could no longer meet their basic needs.
“Some of us are being owed up to one point something million and these are funds we use to go on errands and other miscellaneous things. The last leadership of the National Assembly paid us up to date.
“We are not talking about training, the issue of training is also there, we are supposed to have four trainings in a year. Ever since we started we have not had any training. The training that we had was sponsored by the National Assembly Service Commission. All we are asking for is our entitlements.
“We are calling on the leadership – so we are telling the world that they are owing us, they are taking us to the point where we have to address everybody. This is our plight, this is our concern, we are telling everybody – today is the resumption date – some (legislative aides) have died, some don’t have money to send their children to school.
“The leadership as a matter of urgency – we are calling on the leadership to ensure that our allowances are paid.
“Every year, allocations and budget are given to the National Assembly which captures the legislative aides. So, all we are saying is for them to pay us.”
