Problem of empty offices as Senate resumes Tuesday


The Senate along with the House of Representatives will resume from their forced 19-day recess it embarked on due to none  availability of equipped offices for them to operate from. TAIYE  ODEWALE reports on situations on ground.

Monetisation bane of empty offices

Genesis of emptiness of offices being faced by elected federal lawmakers at both chambers of the National Assembly (NASS), started with implementation of new monetisation policy by NASS management via circulars written to that effect to  lawmakers of the 8th National Assembly in the first week of May this year.

In the letters written separately by Clerk of the Senate, Nelson Ayewoh and his counterpart in the House of Representatives, clearly under the directive from the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Alhaji Mohammed Sani – Omolori, each of the 469 federal lawmakers then, was directed to take along with him or her, at the end of the 8th National Assembly, vital items in his or her office like refrigerators, sets of flat-screen televisions, photocopiers, printers, water filters etc.

While in line with the policy, N350,000 will be deducted from severance packages of lawmakers in  the House of Representatives to procure new ones, N375,000 will be deducted from severance allowances of their counterparts in the Senate.

Based on the arrangements, the last two weeks of May and first week of June  this year,  witnessed heavy traffic of lorries in the premises of NASS hired by the  then serving lawmakers to ferry the items to their various personal houses in and outside Abuja.

Negative effect of monetisation

But negative effects of the implementation of the policy are now seriously being felt by lawmakers of the new 9th National Assembly with attendant none availability of equipped offices to majority of them three weeks after inauguration.

As a way of quickly solving the problem, both chambers had on Thursday, June 13, 2019 during their second plenary after inauguration on Tuesday, June 11, 2019, resolved to embark on the recess in paving way for the various offices to be equipped by National Assembly management and allocated to the various federal lawmakers.

The Senate in its resolution as announced by its president, Senator Ahmad Lawan, after about 90 minutes closed door meeting, set up a 12-member ad-hoc committee on housekeeping issues, to liaise with management of the national assembly in getting the offices equipped and allocated before resumption.

“The Senate will have to adjourn for three weeks recess to enable an Ad- hoc committee agreed upon at the close door session work with the management of the National Assembly for office and seat allocation”, said Lawan 19 days ago.

But today, Tuesday, July 2, 2019, slated for resumption, while seats may have been allocated in the hallowed chambers to each of the 108 available senators now, that cannot be said of offices as most of the empty offices still remained under locks and keys.

Still empty offices

Investigations conducted by our reporter at Senate building on Friday evening, glaringly show that 90 percent of the offices are yet to be equipped with required items like settees, refrigerators, flat screen TV sets, water filter, photocopiers and printers taken away by those who served in the 8th National Assembly in line with newly introduced monetisation policy to that effect.

Aside offices of the two presiding and eight principal officers that are on the 4th Floor, only those of Senators Stella Oduah (PDP, Anambra North) and James Manager (PDP Delta South), are equipped and already accommodated based on special arrangements to that effect.

In fact, findings from our reporter revealed that as at 3:56pm on Friday, Senator Oduah was in her 0.01 suite at the ground floor with all the required office items intact since she didn’t move out from the office before the 8th Senate adjourned sine die on Thursday, June 6, 2019.

Though the 4:17 suite used by Senator James Manager during the 8th Senate, was locked as at 4:00 pm on Friday when our reporter got there, but indication that the office still belonged to him was displayed with written request to that effect pasted on the doors.

The request dated 20th May, 2019 and addressed to the Sergeant – at -Arms by the Senator reads: “Notification of Retaining of Office. I write to notify you of my desire to retain my office suite 4:17 at the senate building. I am retaining the office being a ranking senator (5th term)”.

Aside those two offices, all other ones from the ground to the 4th floor, used by senators who were neither presiding nor principal officers during the 8th senate, are not only yet to be equipped but not allotted to anyone yet.

Clerk of NASS takes knocks

Some members of the Senator Abubakar Kyari led ad-hoc committee confided in the Blueprint that the problem on ground as far as emptiness of the offices are concerned, lies with the management of the National Assembly under the leadership of the Clerk, Alhaji Mohammed Sani Omolori.

Even a staff of the National Assembly at the directorate cadre also blamed the CNA for the problem at hand.

According to the management staff, the monetisation policy which made almost all the lawmakers in the 8th senate to go away with vital office items like settees, refrigerators, sets of flat-screen TVs, photocopiers, printers , water filters etc, was a wrongheaded one, more so, when quick alternative arrangements were not put on ground.

“Such a policy supposed to be implemented with proper planning and caution and not just by issuing of memos which were even done very lately in the first week of May, about a month to the expiration of the 8th National Assembly then.

“Now with the mess at hand, how will the lawmakers cope without offices when they resume on today, the very reason they embarked on the recess as at the time they went “, he lamented.

But another top management staff, who also pleaded for anonymity, said adequate planning were made for implementation of the policy which, according to him, were however thwarted by delay in the release of fund for procurement of new office items.

He, however, added that though funds for the procurement of the office items have been accessed but that the procurement process itself in line with the procurement act, is what is causing the delay.

“Relevant firms have been contracted to supply the office items but they have to pass through the laid down procedures as specified in the act”, said the source.

Meanwhile, the leadership of both chambers will assess the situation this week to ascertain whether to run the plenary till the 26th of July before embarking on the yearly two months recess in line with their legislative calendar or embark on it this week in view of none availability of well equipped offices yet for the majority of the lawmakers.

Members of the ad-hoc committee set up by the senate 19 days ago to hurriedly fix the problem are: Senators Aisha Ahmed Moddibo (APC Adamawa Central), Gabriel Suswam (PDP Benue North East), Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (APC Niger North), Betty Apiafi (PDP Rivers West) and Albert Bassey Akpan (PDP Akwa Ibom North East).

Others are Senators Barau Jibrin (APC Kano North), Ibrahim Gobir (APC Sokoto East), Nicolas Tofowomo (PDP Ondo South), Solomon Adeola Olamilekan (APC Lagos West), Chukwuka Utazi (PDP Enugu North), and Stella Oduah (PDP Anambra North).

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