NASS workers’ welfare is our priority, says Speaker Abbas

The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, has pledged to work for the betterment of the welfare of the workers of the National Assembly.

He made this promise when he received the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), National Assembly chapter, led by its Chairman, Mr. Sunday Sabiyi, who paid him a courtesy call in his Abuja office on Thursday.

He said he would consult with the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, to address some of the issues affecting the workers, whom he described as vital for the smooth functioning of the National Assembly.

He said, “I am fully in support of all your demands. I am someone who has a deep passion for labour matters because I was once in your shoes (in the civil service), at the very bottom. I was a teacher at a time when teaching was the most unwanted profession.

“So, I know your challenges. I know your suffering. I want to assure you that I am on your side. I feel your pain. Not only that, but I also know what you are going through.

“I want to assure you that the 10th National Assembly under our leadership will do everything possible to ensure that all the problems that we have inherited end during this period.”

The Speaker assured the workers that their salary and allowance arrears would be paid and that he would work with his Senate counterpart on how to start pension remittances and payments.

He said that with the passage of the bill establishing the National Assembly Pension Board, which he called “a very revolutionary achievement that we have all been waiting for,” he would contact Senator Akpabio on how to appoint members of the board soon, so that the pension scheme would begin early next year.

The Speaker also said the leadership of the National Assembly would look into how to provide fuel for the buses given to transport workers.

He also directed that the National Salaries Incomes and Wages Commission be invited to a meeting with him next week to discuss how parliamentary workers would benefit from the N35,000 post-subsidy salary bonuses announced by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for Federal Government workers under the executive arm.