Striking National Assembly workers, under the auspices of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), have vowed to continue their ongoing industrial action; just as federal lawmakers are scheduled to resume their long break on Tuesday (today.)
The lawmakers are resuming plenary after a series of resumption postponements over the primaries held by political parties to select candidates for the 2023 general elections.
Read Also: PASAN Commences Indefinite Strike, Shuts Down National Assembly
Last week, PASAN shut down the premises of the parliament; blocking the main entrance and cutting water and power supplies to the buildings; as they pressed home their demands for the payment of some allowances among other demands.
President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, had on Friday, in a meeting with management and workers of the National Assembly, appealed to the striking workers to call off their industrial action; and instead, embrace dialogue for the speedy resolution of the disputes.
Read Also: Lawan Implores Dialogue As NASS Workers Continue Strike
But the Public Relations Officer of PASAN, Amos Enobong, said on Monday, June 13, that the strike would continue despite Lawan’s intervention.
He said:
The strike is still ongoing, we are yet to call it off. We met with the Senate President and they made their offer; it is left for us to accept or reject it.
We are having a congress early tomorrow (Tuesday). We will present the offer to congress; and whatever is agreed upon would be the determinant if we are to continue with the strike or not. But as it stands now, we haven’t called off the strike.
When contacted, the Senate spokesperson, Ajibola Bashir, said he could not say if the plenary would resume or not; as nothing has been said otherwise about the resumption date.
He said:
On the strike, I don’t have much to say. I think that can be answered by the management of the National Assembly. I am not part of the management; and you know there is a difference between senators and management. Management is headed by the Clerk of the National Assembly. We are elected representatives in that place.
We hope that the management will meet the workers; and possibly resolve the matter ahead of our new assumption date of June 14. But I believe that there is a need for dialogue and ensure that whatever could be done to ensure that those demands are addressed is done.
However, a notice from the leadership of PASAN to members; asking them to gather at the gate to the National Assembly complex for a congress in the early hours of Tuesday (today) was sighted.
While Senate plenary starts at 10 am and House starts at 11 am, the workers changed the time for their congress from 10 am to 7 am.
The notice titled:
‘Slight change on joint congress time,’ read, This is to notify all PASAN members that the joint emergency congress of the NASS/NASC Chapters earlier scheduled to hold by 10 am has been rescheduled to hold as follows: Date: Tuesday, June 14, 2022. Venue: National Assembly gate. Time: 7 am prompt. Aluta Continua! Victoria Ascerta! Signed: Joint Chapter Chairmen.
Sources in PASAN disclosed that on Monday the outcome of the congress would determine whether to suspend the shutdown for legislative duties or continue the protests.
The Special Adviser on Media and Labour to the Clerk to the National Assembly, Austen Adesoro, had said that the management was making effort to resolve the strike issues and that plenary would hold as scheduled.
