N/Assembly underfunded – Dogara

Dogara said the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) as well as staff and aides of the lawmakers would all have to adjust and cope with what was made available to them. He spoke yesterday when he played host to the chairman and national commissioners of the National Assembly Service […]

Dogara said the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), National Institute for Legislative Studies (NILS) as well as staff and aides of the lawmakers would all have to adjust and cope with what was made available to them.
He spoke yesterday when he played host to the chairman and national commissioners of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) during a courtesy call on him.
Dogara who was responding to the commission’s call for improved financial disbursement said “on the issue of funding, you will agree with me that we have to take a knock from the N150 billion that we drew from the budget to N120billion. And as you also know, even your commission’s funding comes from this.”
“Many people don’t know this. They believe that the money just comes and we put it in our pockets. They believe that the N120 billion would just be shared among the 469 members of the National Assembly.
“They don’t even know the National Institute of Legislative Studies (NILS) draws from the same purse and now that it has been slashed, it will further affect what gets to everyone in the final analysis. And we will make effort at correcting this wrong impression,” he said.
He called on the commission to ensure equitable regard to staff and legislative aides of the House like their senate counterparts, even as he said any act of discrimination between them amounts to violation of the single service of the commission.
“What is justice to staff of the senate must also be justice to staff of House of Representatives. We can’t have one service and deferring working conditions. We will ensure that what is due to staff working in the Senate must also be due to staff working in the House of Reps,” he said.
The speaker assured the commission that there would be no interference from his leadership in the activities of the commission unless there’s is reported injustice on staff.
NASC chairman, Adamu Fika had earlier congratulated Dogara for his emergence as the Speaker and urged him to look into the issue of funding and policies for the commission.
He said there is the need of the review in terms of the commission’s allocation, being the major agency under the National Assembly.