Police shuts National Assembly entrance against striking workers
The entrance to the National Assembly complex has been shut down and barricaded by police operatives in an effort to keep the staff of the National Assembly away from the premises.
This is the latest installment of an ongoing misunderstanding between the management of the National Assembly and the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria who had initially demanded NASS to attend to unresolved issues concerning their salaries and allowances.
But since the NASS management was not forthcoming with their request, the workers went to the extreme by cutting out water supply and electricity from the entire National Assembly complex on Monday.
They were reported to have taken over the complex in lieu of a four-day warning strike to express their grievances over the neglected demands.
To salvage the situation, the management and leaders of National Assembly held an emergency meeting the previous night where they ordered the police and DSS to step into the situation and secure the premises against any further escalation.
They resolved that this was necessary in order to maintain peace and decorum ahead of President Buhari’s visit to present the 2019 Appropriation bill on Wednesday.
Some people have been critical of the National Assembly for not being particular about the welfare of their staff, given that they receive the highest salary in the country.
