The annual recess embarked upon by Senators and members of the House of Representatives penultimate Thursday have paralysed activities at the National Assembly situated in the Three Arms Zone of Abuja.
Legislative aides, and some civil servants have abandoned their offices while the long queue of vistors at the main entrance and the crowd which usually gathered within the lobby of the complex, had disappeared.
The development had created a serious lull in activities as offices of the lawmakers remained shut while the few workers who usually turn up for duties resume late and close early.
Our correspondent observed that banks and other privately owned businesses within the complex had been experiencing very low patronage.
A visit to the Car Parks also revealed that sanity had been fully restored in the car park as fewer vehicles were in the premises thereby preventing commotion that usually occur due to the inadequate parking spaces.
Some of the workers who spoke with our correspondent on conditions of anonymity described the the current situation at the Assembly complex as a normal occurrence during the annual long recess.
One of them who works as a committee clerk said some management staff from the position of directors and above usually plan their annual leave to coincide with the long recess so that they will not be absence whenever the lawmakers are in session.
He said, “What you are seeing is not strange. You cannot find many people around whenever the Senators and their counterparts in the House of Representatives are on recess. You know an average lawmakers have about four personal aides and just one civil servant as secretary.
“What that means is that only one civil servant will be resuming regularly to the office of a senator for instance, which usually have about six or seven staff, working there on regular basis.”
Acting Director of Information Services, Mr. Ishaku Dibal, told our correspondent in his office that all the civil servants have been reporting daily at their various duty posts as they were not affected by the lawmakers’ recess.
via nigerianeye
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