NASS: We’ll find money anywhere and pay your allowances – Saraki assures protesting staff

The audacity of protest by the Parliamentary Staff Association of
Nigeria, PASAN, in the National Assembly on Tuesday forced the Senate
President, Dr Bukola Saraki to address protesters after about six
hours.

The protest, which began at exactly 8am Tuesday by the National
Assembly staff over the non payment of allowances, successfully
stopped Tuesday's sitting as lawmakers of the upper and lower chambers
were turned back.

Immediately the Senate President appeared for his address, the noise
became tumultuous with chants of "no alert, no sitting".

Saraki, in his address, said he and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, have accepted responsibility for the
non payment of allowances and those issues that formed the grievances
of the staffers.

He also promised that they would find money anywhere to pay the
protesting parliamentary staff, noting that it was their entitlements.

"As the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, we accept responsibility for the non payment of part
of your allowances.

"We will find money anywhere to pay you, but you should give us time to do that.

"Please give us time between now and Friday this week so that the
leadership could sit with the NASS management over this issue," he
said.

Infuriated by what Saraki said, the protesters insisted that the upper
and lower chambers would not be opened for sitting until they all got
alert confirming payment.

Meanwhile, a female protester, who spoke with DAILY POST under the
condition of anonymity, explained that the National Assembly
management was in receipt of huge sums of money under the sub-heading
that has to do with their allowances last week Thursday, stressing
that it was on this basis that the protest would continue until they
are paid.

She said, "We know what we are doing here. The issue of Friday
appointment with the management will not be accepted. We have been
hearing this for a long time. Let them pay us now.

"Just last week Thursday, the money we are talking was released by the
Federal Ministry of Finance and we will not wait for it to be shared
by the management as usual," she insisted.