By Leonard Okachie
Parliamentary workers in Abia, on Monday, commenced an indefinite strike over the State Government’s non-implementation of Legislative Financial Autonomy.
The workers, operating under the aegis of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), barricaded the entrance to the assembly complex.
They barred people from entering the premises and hung the union’s banner, with the inscription of the strike notice, at the main entrance gate.
The state Chairman of the association, Mr Sunday Kalu, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the action was in compliance with the directive from PASAN’s national body.
Kalu said that the strike followed the expiration of the ultimatum issued on Nov. 19, 2024 and January 30, over the non-implementation of Financial Autonomy, Consolidated Legislative Structure (CONLESS) and Administrative Autonomy.
He said the union went on a warning strike in 2023, but later suspended it after negotiation with the government, adding that nothing had changed to date.
“Government constituted a commission after much demand but it is not functioning,” he said.
According to Kalu, the implementation of the financial autonomy is in line with section 121 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.
“But up until now, we are still begging the Executive to pay our salary and allowances.
“We have a service commission which is supposed to give us our administrative autonomy, but the commission is somehow handicapped.
“The file of every worker in the House has been moved to the Office of the Head of Service.
“Our activities are being stalled, we can’t get our promotions and as a civil servant, one can’t do anything with their file.
“The same thing applies to financial autonomy and CONLESS, but all our efforts to make the government to listen to us have failed,” Kalu further said.
NAN further reports that the Nigeria Governors Forum, Conference of Speakers of State Houses of Assembly and the PASAN national executive had on November 2023, signed a Memorandum of Understanding.
Part of the agreement was the full implementation of financial autonomy of the state assemblies and CONLESS, beginning from January 2024. (NAN)
