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As both Senate and the House of Representatives resume tomorrow (Tuesday) from the recess they hurriedly embarked on 18 days ago, there are indications the offices are still not ready for most of them, thus creating tension among lawmakers.
Both chambers had Thursday , June 13, 2019, during their second plenary after inauguration Tuesday, June 11, 2019 , resolved to embark on the recess so the various offices could be equipped by the National Assembly’s management and allocated to the various federal lawmakers .
In its resolution as announced by its President, Senator Ahmad Lawan, after about 90 minutes closed-door meeting , the Senate set up a 12- member Ad-hoc committee on house-keeping issues, to liaise with the management 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, ” Lawan had said.
But twenty four hours to the planned resumption, while seats may have been allocated in the hallowed chambers to each of the 108 available senators, that cannot be said of offices as most of them remained under locks and keys .
Investigations conducted by our reporter at Senate building Friday evening , showed 90% of the offices were yet to be equipped with required items like settees, refrigerators, flat 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 on the 4th floor, only those of Senators Stella Oduah (PDP Anambra North) and James Manager ( PDP Delta South ) were equipped and already accommodated based on special arrangements to that effect.
In fact, findings from our reporter revealed that as at 3:56pm 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 Thursday, June 6, 2019 .
Though our checks revealed the 4:17 suite used by Senator Manager during the 8th Senate was locked as at 4:00 pm Friday, 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 lawmaker 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 others from the ground to the 4th floor, used by senators who were neither presiding nor principal officers during the 8th Senate, were not only yet to be equipped but also not allotted to anyone yet.
Some members of the Senator Yahaya Abdullahi-led ad-hoc committee confided in the Blueprint that the problem on ground as far as emptiness of the offices is 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.
The management staff who spoke under anonymity, said the monetisation policy which made almost all the lawmakers in the 8th Senate go away with vital office items like settees, refrigerators, sets of flat 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 Tuesday, the very reason they embarked on the recess as at the time they went? ” he lamented.
But another top management staff who also pleaded anonymity, said adequate planning was made for implementation of the policy, which according to him, was however thwarted by delay in the release of fund for procurement of new office items .He however said though funds for the procurement of the office items had been accessed, but the procurement process itself, in line with 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, leadership of both chambers will assess the situation this week to decide whether to run the plenary till 26th of July before embarking on the yearly two-month recess in line with their legislative calendar or embark on it this week in view of non availability of well equipped offices yet for majority lawmakers
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