PASAN reacts to report on planned payment of N3.7bn CONPECULIAR allowance to NASS staff members
●Says it is in talks with management on the issue
Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) has reacted to the report that the National Assembly management was planning to expend a princely N3.7 billion on the payment of National Assembly staff members’ CONPECULIAR allowance and other outstanding entitlements.
THE CONCLAVE had published a report about excitement in the National Assembly over moves by the acting Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Mr Sani Magaji Tambuwal, to pay the allowance and other outstanding entitlements.
The report was based on feelers that that an unspent N7 billion contingency fund in the 2022 budget, which was returned to the treasury and receipted by the Central bank of Nigeria (CBN) was going to be retuned to the NASS management for critical projects and programmes.
The report stated that the acting CNA had been able to convince both the political and administrative wings of the National Assembly on his priority to deploy N3.7b of the money, when it is eventually returned to NASS’ coffers, on payment of outstanding allowances and welfare entitlements of staff members which had been at the roots of staff members’ agitations and strikes in recent times.
But in a swift riposte on Sunday night, in a WhatsApp statement entitled: “RE: EXCITEMENT IN NASS AS AG. CNA MOVES TO PAY N3.7bn CONPECULIAR AND OTHER OUTSTANDING ENTITLEMENT”, PASAN debunked the report but interestingly said that it was already engaging management on the issue.
The statement was signed by PASAN’s Public Relations Officer, Amos Ononbong, although he only indicated his office in the WhatsApp statement excluding his name.
Read the rejoinder: “Respected members, the attention of EXCO of PASAN, National Assembly Chapter has been drawn to a newspaper publication captioned: “Excitement in NASS as Ag. CNA moves to pay staff members N3.7bn CONPECULIAR and other outstanding entitlements”.
“PASAN wishes to debunk this newspaper report as misleading and uncalled for. While it is correct that the Management of National Assembly is owing our members arrears of CONPECULIAR allowance, PASAN wishes to inform her members that it has been engaging MGT (management) on the issue.
“Hence, members are hereby directed to disregard the newspaper report as that is not the appropriate channel of communication for staff members in the National Assembly in particular and the public service in general.
“Our members are hereby admonished to desist from peddling rumours on administrative and financial issues in our workplace as PASAN will from time to time give update(s) on issues regarding our welfare through the PRO on all our platforms and notice boards. Thank you.
“Signed.
“PRO (Public Relations Officer)”
