Nigeria Content Online

The House of Representatives yesterday passed a resolution
granting staff of the National Assembly a Consolidated Salary structure
(CONLSS).

With the resolution, all workers of the federal legislature will
be entitled to 100 per cent increase in their salaries. The Senate had passed a
similar motion last month.

The chairman of the Committee on Rules and Business, Ita Enang,
while introducing the motion in the House, said it approved the structure in
May and transmitted to the Senate for concurrence, adding that the upper
chamber passed it with some differences.

As a result, Mr Enang
stated, the two chambers met on June 22 and adopted a harmonised version of the
structure, which he said will encourage commitment and dedication to work.

The increment was based on the agreement between the National
Assembly Service Commission (NASC) and the Parliamentary Staff Association of
Nigeria (PASAN). Interestingly, the increase is coming at a time when the
representatives and senators are demanding an increment in their allowances to
N27.2 million and N80 million respectively.

However, the new National Assembly (NASS) staff structure will
be deployed in batches, with 50 per cent being paid immediately while the
remaining 50 per cent will be spread over the next eight years.

The immediate implementation of the first 50 per cent will gulp
about N11 billion annually, about N4.65 above the N6.3 billion which is the
current salary of the NASS staff.

Two more bills

At present, the NASC has a total of 317 workers while the
legislative aides are 2,942.

Also, on Tuesday, the House passed two bills into law. They are
‘A Bill for an Act to Regulate the Conduct of Federal, State and Area Council
Elections and to Repeal the Electoral Act 2006, and for Other Related Matters,
2010,’ and ‘A Bill for an Act to Confer Exclusive Original Jurisdiction in the
Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, on Chieftaincy Matters on the Customary Court
of Appeal of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and to Provide for Matters
Related Thereto, 2010.’

Another one ‘A Bill for an Act to Amend the Institute for Democratic and
Legislative Studies Act, 2007 and for Other Matters Connected Therewith, 2010,’
scaled second reading.