The Anambra State House of Assembly has been forced to suspend sitting and all other activities indefinitely following a protest by the state chapter of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN).
PASAN is protesting the non-implementation of the constitutional provisions that provide financial autonomy for the legislative arm of government.
The protesting workers forced the lawmakers to suspend their activities after they blocked the entrance to the house during a peaceful demonstration to drive home their stand.
The protesters carried placards with inscriptions like: “Nigeria Governors Forum uphold and ensure that the constitution guarantees that separation of power”, “Our autonomy or nothing”, “Legislative autonomy is the bedrock of democracy”, among others.
They also called on the Nigeria Governors Forum to immediately commence the implementation of the constitutional provisions that provide financial autonomy for the legislative arm of government.
The state House of Assembly had adjourned its sitting till the 20th of April after it went on Easter break, but was stopped from resuming when the protesters blocked the entrance gate leading to the state House of Assembly.
While speaking with newsmen, the state chairman of PASAN, Comrade Clinton Onubuiyi, said for democracy to thrive, there must be total separation of powers among the three arms of government, a course the workers were ready to uphold.
He further stated that it had become imperative for the governors’ forum to without further deliberations grant the constitutional provisions which he said was healthy for the growth of the nation’s democracy.
