Staff welfare: Staff commends NASS management

Staff of the National Assembly have commended its management for making the welfare of workers a priority in the face of lockdown occasioned by COVID-19 pandemic.

They noted that the leadership and management have match words with action as it affects the payment of salaries and general welfare of the staff of the parliament despite the negative effect of the current coronavirus outbreak.

Speaking with CAPITAL POST by some members of Staff, who don’t want their names mentioned, they  appreciated the efforts of President of the Senate, Senator Ahmad Lawan, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and the Clerk to the National Assembly, Alhaji  Sani Omolori for their concerted  efforts in ensuring that salaries and other welfare issues of the staff were insulated from any shocks that the coronavirus pandemic may cause.

They also acknowledged that the  leadership of the National Assembly, despite the shutdown of both the Assembly Complex and the FCT has been relentless in various interventions that brothers on national issues.

Some of the critical areas the leadership has intervened include the persecution of Nigerians in China, improving of electricity supply to Nigerians while the lockdown lasts, the expansion to accommodate more vulnerable Nigerians in the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) component of the Federal Government’s Social Investment Programme (SIP) as well as giving legal framework to various emergency intervention programmes of the federal government.

In a telephone interview with the Director of Public Affairs of the National Assembly, Dr. Yahaya Danzaria, said that the management of the Assembly had continued to prioritise the welfare of the staff as part of the reform efforts to increase productivity of Assemblywoman.

“Staff welfare is top priority for the management. In fact, on April salary, our staff started receiving their salaries since Thursday this week.

“We made all the necessary arrangement with Sun Trust Bank to ensure that our staff were paid their salaries seamlessly even while they are at home,” the director said.

Speaking further, Dr. Danzaria explained that the National Assembly management has continued to ensure the payment of the salaries of its staff between 24th and 25th of every month, assuring that the Clerk to Assembly was determined to ensure that the progress made so far is sustained and continuously improved upon.

He revealed that as part of the NASS management efforts to ensure that all staff of the Assembly works in a safe and secure environment, the entire complex has already been fumigated and decontaminated against the coronavirus or any other virus that may pose any danger to staff, parliamentarians and visitors to the complex.

It will be recalled that immediately the COVID-19 pandemic broke out in Nigeria, the National Assembly through its Directorate of Medical Services immediately swung into action in production and distribution of hand sanitisers to all offices in the complex as a first line effort to protect its staff from the virus.

The National Assembly was shut down by the management on March 24th as a precautionary measure to forestall a possible spread of the coronavirus to the expansive complex. 

Only top management staff, medical staff and others in essential services are currently allowed into the complex. There has not been any COVID-19 case linked to the National Assembly.