The former aides whose tenure ended on June 12, 2023, are calling on well-meaning Nigerians to plead with the Clerk of the National Assembly and the accounts department on their behalf.

About 5,000 former legislative aides in the 9th National Assembly have cried out for help to recover their severance entitlements from the authorities.

The former aides whose tenure ended on June 12, 2023, are calling on well-meaning Nigerians to plead with the Clerk of the National Assembly and the accounts department on their behalf.

This is contained in a statement signed by Joseph Chimezie on behalf of the 9th Assembly National Legislative Aides on Monday.

According to Chimezie, many of them took loans to celebrate Christmas with the hope that the severance packages would be ready before the end of January 2024.

The statement reads in part, “The issue of severance payment has been lingering on for months, and it seems people in charge are expecting us to do our worst before they will do the needful.

“Our principals who served in the 9th Assembly as lawmakers, both senators and Federal House of Representative members, have all been paid their severance. They got their severance before December 13th, 2023.

“After paying our principals, we were supposed to be the next in line because the money had already been approved with that of our principals.

“We were assured by our Excos that our severance would be paid a week after our principals were paid. The week passed, minority few were paid, and they protested what they got was way below what they should be paid.

“The accounts department noticed the discrepancies and withheld payment. They reached us through our Excos that we should exercise patience. They want to go through our files and ascertain how much each aide would get, and after that, they will pay in batches.

“Days turned to weeks and weeks to a month, yet nothing. The batches they assured us they would pay were supposed to last till December 2023.

“Many went and borrowed loans to celebrate Christmas with the hope that our severance would be ready before the end of January. A month has passed, and many of our colleagues are already stranded.

“We have tried to reach the accounts department in charge of our severance, but there is no genuine excuse (as to) why we haven’t been paid.

“The last excuse was that they were trying to reconcile our accounts. Some account numbers are not corresponding. The same account numbers they used in paying salaries for 4 years suddenly became incorrect? Is National Assembly management using our severance package to do personal business?

“On behalf of about 5,000 legislative aides, I’m through this medium, appealing to Nigerians whose voices can be heard in high places and the mass media to please, help us intervene and call on National Assembly authorities to pay us our severance.”

The former legislative aides have also cried out to President Bola Tinubu to help them recover their severance entitlements from the National Assembly authorities.

Some of them have accused the leadership of the National Assembly of taking their severance entitlements for themselves.

The former legislative lamented that they had not been paid six months after they left office in June 2023.

According to them, they are dying of hunger because of lack of money.

source: Sahara reporters