By Adeyinka Adeniran
Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria, (PASAN) on Monday suspended its industrial action demanding financial autonomy for State House of Assemblies across the nation, following a meeting with Nigeria Governors Forum (NGF) and Conference of Speakers (CoS).
A statement from the PASAN National body, signed by its President, Comrade Mohammed Usman, a copy of which was sighted by The Nation indicates that, the NGF and CoS had agreed to ensure all State House of Assemblies have a functional Assembly Service Commission and a working Assembly Fund Management Law on or before 22nd December, 2023.
The statement notes that, the special salary structure for PASAN “CONLESS” is to commence by January, 2024.
It added that if the above were not fully implemented as promised by the NGF and CoS, the Union will resume its strike on 28th February, 2024.
The Nation reports that PASAN had embarked on a nationwide strike since 30th of October, demanding for proper welfare of members, full implementation of financial autonomy for the Houses of Assembly amongst others.
The letter dated 20th November, 2023 was directed to All Chapter Chairmen/Secretaries, All Central Working Committee (CWC) members and all PASAN members.
It reads in parts “Following the earlier I formation to you on the decision of the NGF and the Conference of Speakers, the following information is further given:
“The NGF conveyed their decision to the CoS on our demands, and the o going strike action. The CoS through its DG thereafter wrote a letter to us.
“From the letter from the Conference of Speakers, which conveyed the minds of both the NGF and the CoS, all our demands are being attend to.
“Note also the timeliness included in the letter which seeks to have all state legislatures to have a functional Assembly Service Commission, a working Assembly Fund Management Law on or before the 22nd of December, 2023. By this provision of the commitment from the NGF and the CoS , all chapters are to follow up on this to ensure this is achieved within the given timeliness.”
It reads further “From the letter of commitment, the CONLESS is to commence from the month of January 2024. This means all state legislatures must provide for this in their 2024 Appropriation Laws. States that have already presented their budget should ensure such is amended to accommodation CONLESS, in case it was not captured before the presentation.
“The letter of commitment also grant PASAN the right to resume its strike action by 28th of February, 2024 if all the commitments from the NGF and CoS are not fully implemented.
“On the strength of the above, I hereby call on all members of the Central Working Committee (CWC) and National Executive Council (NEC) to suspended the ongoing strike action with immediate effect from 20th of November, 2023.”
