For years, the earnings of elected representatives in the National Assembly has been an issue of controversy, with reports of them being one of the highest paid in the world. In this report, this reporter looks at the work environment for staff of the National Assembly.
For civil servants working in the National Assembly, the reality has been very grim. In February, the legislative aides had to shut down the National Assembly Complex protesting 22 months worth of allowances the management was owing them.
The first sign of the grim reality starts from the sight of the shuttle buses. The buses which are in terrible conditions, take people from the Eagle Square junction to the Second Gate of the National Assembly.
These buses are in sharp contrast to exotic vehicles the lawmakers order regularly for themselves. In 2020, the lawmakers reportedly took delivery of 400 exotic Toyota Camry 2020 model and 14 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado sports utility vehicles.
“They are driving luxurious vehicles, but we the workers are to use these as shuttle. They even increased the price from N30 to N50,” a worker at the National Assembly said.
“Before, we used to have these coaster buses run by PASAN for staff. They pick passengers from the junction and take them to the white house. Due to lack of maintenance, the vehicles are not working again,” another staff said.
The NASS shuttle can only take staff to the second gate, where they are obligated to trek the remaining distance to their offices.
Lawmakers in Maitama, workers in Mararaba, Suleja
For Senators who get N4.02 million annually as housing allowance, the prime locations are the options for them. Maitama, Guzape, Asokoro, Katampe are their options. Their colleagues in the lower chamber also earn N3.9 million annually for accommodation. These figures are according to the Revenue Mobilization Allocation and Fiscal Commission.
These lawmakers also get N6 million and N5.9 million once in 4 years as Senators and House of Representatives respectively for furniture. Aside from these, the lawmakers also get the controversial cost of running office which is about N13.5 million per month for Senators and N11.5 million per month for House of Representatives members.
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Findings also revealed that due to the high cost of rent in the Abuja metropolis, most workers in the National Assembly cannot afford the high cost of rent which means most of them live outside the FCT, with some in Suleja in Niger State and others Mararaba in Nassarawa State.
For the workers, accommodation within the city on civil servants salary is impossible considering high cost. To cushion the effect of travelling, the management of the National Assembly provided PASAN with some vehicles to take staff to some selected locations like Mararaba, Masaka, and Keffi, all in Nasarawa State. Others are Karu, Lugbe, Karishi and Suleja.
For most workers living along the Mararaba axis, the daily traffic congestion on their way to and from work is another major source of worry. Most often, they have to delay going home till late in the evening to avoid the traffic congestion, while also leaving home as early as 5: 30am to beat the traffic in the morning.
According to a Physiotherapist, Rahmat Ibraheem, traffic has an impact on productivity for workers.
“Staying in traffic for a long period leads to production of stress hormones which can make you less relaxed when you get to work or at home at night. The sitting arrangements in some of our public vehicles is another issue, due to the number of passengers they take on board. The implication is that this leads to muscle wastage and stiffness.” she said.
She added that the “body must be in synergy to be effective, and when stress hormones are produced, that certainly won't happen.”
For most workers, consideration for "muscle well-being" may be a luxury considering that inflation on the prices of food items continues to grow.
The reporter observes that while the workers struggle daily with the challenges of transportation and others, lawmakers go about with exotic cars.
Culled from DailyPost
