All is not well in the National Assembly Legislative Aides’ Forum as a lawyer, Mr Joshua Okah, who is Senior Legislative Aide to a member of the House of Representatives, Mr Ben Igbakpa, has dragged the Chairman-elect, Mr Salisu Zuru, before a court for allegedly maintaining two public offices and drawing salaries from them.
Okah is accusing Zuru, who recently won NASSLAF’s recent chairmanship election, of refusing to quit his earlier position as a member of the board of the National Orientation Agency before taking another appointment as SLA to Senator Sahabi Ya’u, who represents Zamfara North.
The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), had in December 2017 appointed 209 chairmen and 1,258 members of the governing boards of departments, agencies, parastatals and corporations of the Federal Government, some of whom were later confirmed to have died before the appointments.
Ukah argued that the chairmanship elections were void and ought to be nullified, adding that a fresh election should be conducted for the remaining chairmanship candidates.
The plaintiff, in the affidavit he deposed to, stated that upon appointment by the NASC, all legislative aides, as part of their conditions for appointment, are entitled to emoluments such as salaries, allowances’ payment of first 28 days in lieu of accommodation upon assumption of duty, severance gratuity at the rate of 300 per cent of annual basic salary for the completion of each tenure, and trainings among others.
The SLA also noted that all the 13 defendants had been receiving the emoluments except severance gratuity, while those who served in the 8th National Assembly had been paid all their entitlements.
According to him, as of the time Zuru contested the NASSLAF election, he remained a member of the NOA board. He also attached a copy of a letter from the Office of the Director General of the NOA, dated October 19, 2020, confirming the 1st defendant’s membership of the present board of the agency, as well as a photograph taken by the board’s members on April 5, 2018.
