Reps Speaker Changes Seating Arrangement After Protest

Some House of Representatives members in Abuja on Tuesday protested against alleged discrimination in the allocation of seats and offices for the members forcing the decision by the leadership to adopt a change in the seating arrangement.

The lawmakers, numbering about 100 who openly protested against the perceived tendencies, said the ugly trend was capable of causing setbacks on legislative activities.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the House Committee on Welfare, chaired by Rep. Olawale Raji (APC-Lagos), was saddled with the responsibility of allocation of seats for members.

The protesting lawmakers were mostly first-timers, who described the seats allocated to them at one of the temporary chambers as unconducive as they were allocated seats on the third floor.

Also, Some of the lawmakers protested against the allocation of offices to the members.

 According to the list issued by the Welfare Committee, 240 members were allotted for the second floor, while a few members, including some first-timers, were allocated seats on the ground floor.

Responding to the development, the Speaker of the House,  Rep. Tajudeen Abbas, called for calm, while assuring that the main Chamber which is currently undergoing renovation, would be completed before the House resumes from recess.

 Rep. Khadijat Bukar-Ibrahim, Chairman, Ad hoc Committee on Media,  said that there was a slight uproar during the plenary session.

 She said the allocation of offices is the responsibility of the Welfare Committee which had actually done the work and allocated offices to each and every member.

“And as far as the seats are concerned, you know we are in a temporary seating area, so there are not enough seats for all members to sit downstairs. So, some have to be accommodated upstairs.

“So, there was a slide uproar not a huge one about not hearing the mic from the  downstairs,” She said.

“Mr. Speaker  had since directed that  members  should occupy any seat they find downstairs and everybody was happy,” Bukar-Ibrahim added of the decision of the House of Representatives speaker on the seats for members.

(NAN)

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