Investigations into the goings on at the Anambra State House of Assembly complex Awka have re?vealed that the parliamentary staff need urgent help from Governor Chukwuma Charles Soludo because the workers are not only living in abject penury and squalor, they are also dying out of frustrations due to poor conditions of service.

The latest episode was the tragic death of one Tochukwu Ezekobe of the Publications Department who took a loan from the service to pay her school fees but died mysterious?ly over a query on why she could not repay the loan.

Further investigation showed that Tochukwu Ezekobe was not the only victim of miserable death amongst legislative staff as Ama?siani Christiana was another vic?tim of similar circumstance.

Daily Independent gathered that Amasiani Christiana of the same Publications Department died mysteriously in her room and was discovered after two days when the body had started decomposing.

Sources also confirmed that Anambra State House of Assembly workers have lost three colleagues this year; two in January and one in November this year over vicis?situdes of life due to poor pay and outright lack of incentives and wel?fare packages.

It was equally gathered that 85% of parliamentary workers depend on loans to fend for their families such that after deductions what they have left would not be more or less than N7000. This is the dilemma of the Anambra assembly worker.

Inside sources further revealed that the workers are the mercy of elected members whom they de?pend on for crumbs to augment their salaries due to government?s refusal to implement the Consoli?dated Legislative Salary Structure (CONLESS) for House of Assembly staff, creation of the Legislative Service Commission as well as payment of peculiar allowances as contained in relevant laws.

Sources who preferred anonym?ity told Daily Independent that their plight is terrible and pathetic because they have written countless letters to the governor for them to be paid their allowances and also look into issues of workers? welfare but all to no avail as the government seems insensitive to their plight.

They said that the House of As?sembly doesn?t have financial auton?omy nor does it have administrative autonomy as 80% of the staff mem?bers were posted from the office of the Head of Service, which they described as a misnomer because it is not the same in Ebonyi, Abia and Imo states.

They said that it is only in Anam?bra and Enugu states that parlia?mentary workers are posted to the House of Assembly from the office of the Head of Service.

This, according to the sources, is what the Legislative Service Com?mission will address because the commission by law guarantees ad?ministrative autonomy: the power to recruit administrative staff for the legislature in accordance with the Anambra State Legislative Service Commission Law and in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria as amended.

They expressed concerns that the non-implementation of the leg?islative service commission law by the Soludo administration has re?sulted in many casualties amongst parliamentary staff as evident in the recent death of Tochukwu Eze?kobe, who died from pressure of unpaid loan.

They are also worried that Gov?ernor Chukwuma Charles Soludo has constituted the Civil Service Commission and the Judicial Ser?vice Commission but his refusal to constitute the Legislative Service Commission is what they cannot fathom. They said the need to con?stitute the commission is of strate?gic importance as it would address issues of peculiar allowances, out?fit allowances and other lacunas in parliamentary services.

Daily Independent gathered that at the moment Anambra State pays only N1,000 as outfit allowance to House of Assembly workers while no staff gets legislative duty allow?ance; that other four states in the Southeast pay the special allow?ances of Assembly workers includ?ing the legislative duty allowance but Anambra is zero and the state Assembly is in comatose because there is apparently no administra?tive autonomy and no legislative autonomy.

It would be recalled that the Par?liamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASSAN) had reached an agreement with governors in 2001 to grant the legislature financial autonomy which they failed and their failure led to two consecutive nationwide strike actions embarked upon by PASSAN.

Although sources further dis?closed that while Anambra legis?lative staff still grapple with the constitution of legislative service commission and payment of special allowances, other states across the federation are currently demanding implementation of the Consolidated Legislative Salary Structure (CON?LESS) which is the bone of conten?tion in the current strike action.

Hence the Anambra State House of Assembly complex Awka was on 15th November 2025 barricaded with various posters and placards suggesting that the workers have joined their counterparts nation?wide to begin indefinite strike ac?tions to press home their demands for the implementation of Consoli?dated Legislative Salary Structure (CONLESS) and better working conditions.

When contacted as at the time of writing this report, the Major?ity Leader of the Assembly and lawmaker representing Ekwusigo state constituency, Hon. Ikenna Ofo?deme, confirmed to this journalist that there is no autonomy whatso?ever in the Anambra State House of Assembly. (Daily Independent)

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