Shake-up in Saraki’s office, 98 aides sacked

The office of the senate president had conducted a staff audit earlier in the year to thin down the number of aides, which was about 300. According to the aide, Arthur Ndiwe, Saraki’s director of protocol, and Folashade Adigun, head of administration, were among those laid off. But Yusuph Olaniyonu, special adviser on media to the senate president, said he was not aware of the mass sack. “I am not aware of any sack. I am still at work,” he said. Isa Galaudu, Saraki’s former chief of staff, had resigned in January in the heat of the impending shake-up. The exercise is believed to be a way of cutting down cost. Last October, legislative aides staged a warning protest at the main lobby of the national assembly complex over unpaid salaries and allowances. “If nothing is done between now and Tuesday, all the legislative aides will down tool. And if we down tool it will certainly be a clog in the wheel of the operations of the national assembly,” Gozie Nwachukwu, one of the aggrieved workers, had said. There are currently about 4,600 legislative aides at the national assembly.]]>