Gbajabiamila: Strike can’t stop NASS from sitting, as Reps resolve to admit Buhari to present 2019 Appropriation Bill

Leader of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila (APC-Lagos), has said that the ongoing strike by members of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) will not stop the Legislature from sitting.
Gbajabiamila said in an interview with journalists on Tuesday, said that shutting down the National Assembly was tantamount to shutting down the nation.
He said that the house would sit to pass a resolution to allow President Muhammadu Buhari to present the 2019 Appropriation Bill to the joint session of the National Assembly on Wednesday.
“Everybody has the right to strike, you cannot take that away from anybody, it is a constitutional right, it is almost a fundamental human right for you to down your tools but that’s where it ends.
“You down your tools but you cannot stop lawmakers from doing their work, that is totally out of the purview of strike.
“In fact, it is in our laws, the Legislative Privilege Act that nobody can stop a legislator from doing his work and it attracts certain punishment,” he said.
The leader said that the lawmakers would protect the rights of the striking workers and that the right of lawmakers to sit must also be protected.
According Gbajabiamila, when you shutdown the National Assembly, you shutdown the entire country.
Gbajabiamila explained that the monies being demanded for by the striking workers had nothing to do with the legislators at the National Assembly.
According to him, the Senate, the House of Representatives and the management have separate account and they operate differently.
The leader said that the lawmakers were only intervening to ensure peace between the workers and the management of the assembly.
He said when the National Assembly cannot perform its constitutional functions and the budget cannot be laid before the house, that will amount to shutting down the country and that nobody would sit and watch that to happen.
Gbajabiamila said that the leadership of the National Assembly met yesterday and the matter was being taken care off and that the results were already being seen.
The 4-day warning strike action by members of PASAN has entered day two.
When the motion was put to a voice vote, while some members in the House were in support, others shouted against the motion.
The deputy speaker, however, ruled to allow the president to present the 2019 Appropriation.
The President had on December 13 written to the House to grant him a slot to present the budget.
Meanwhile, security personnel on Tuesday morning prevented striking members of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) from accessing the National Assembly complex.
The main entrance from the Federal Secretariat was barricaded by the operatives, majority of whom were police operatives.
Motorists and PASAN members were denied entry by the security operatives, who said they were acting on instruction.
But non-members, including lawmakers, their aides, journalists, bank officials, vendors and others, were allowed in.
The National Assembly leadership had on Monday directed “the Police and the State Security Service (SSS) to ensure adequate security within the vicinity of the National Assembly from Tuesday”.
The directive was announced by the Clerk, Sanni Omolori, through a statement.
“This is to enable members of staff to come in and perform their legitimate duties without any hindrance.
“The directive was passed after a meeting of the joint leadership of the two chambers with the management and representatives of the security agencies,” Omolori said.
Addressing newsmen at the gate on Tuesday, the Chairman of PASAN, NASS chapter, Mr Musa Muhammad, described the shutdown as unfortunate.
He said the action was a demonstration of the insensitivity of authorities to the plight of the workers.
Muhammad said, “The management of the National Assembly has helped us by barricading the gate, and not allowing the staff to enter.
“I think they have shot themselves in the foot. This is to show the world that they are insensitive to the plight of the staff. The staff are law-abiding citizens.
“We have never carried out this kind of action before, and to make the whole case worse, you cannot ask your staff to stay outside.”
He denied allegation that the association prevented non-members from entering the complex to carry out their lawful duties.
Muhammad also said PASAN was not behind the disruption of electricity and water supply in the complex on Monday.
“We never asked anybody not to go and perform their duties. Ours is for own staff.
“Yesterday, bankers were allowed in, all other workers who are not our members were allowed in.
“Not even the legislators, we have never stopped them from carrying out their legitimate function.
“We didn’t instruct anybody to shut down electricity and water supply, and as I speak with you we are not sure that was carried out by our members,” he added.
The PASAN chairman said the strike was not planned to disrupt the planned presentation of the 2019 Appropriation Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari to the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, water and electricity supply has been restored in the complex.