Nigeria National Assembly has stated reasons its members ignore the Federal Government’s directive on compulsory vaccination before they can access their offices.
The management of the National Assembly on Monday said the Federal Government’s order that all civil servants must be vaccinated before accessing their offices cannot be implemented at the legislative complex.
This is just as safety protocols have been relaxed at the National Assembly.
The Director of Information, Mr Rawlings Agada, who spoke to our correspondent on the telephone on Monday, noted that restriction of access to the premises would cause chaos as workers were only a percentage of the population of the National Assembly “community.”
Punch reports that workers have continued to gain unhindered access to the National Assembly. It was also observed that despite the outbreak of Omicron, lawmakers have also shunned safety protocols.
For instance, before the National Assembly went on its annual two-month recess in July, facemasks wearing was made compulsory for persons entering the premises especially the chambers, committee rooms and offices.
Also, automatic hand sanitiser dispensers were mounted at strategic locations around the building.
Some of these protocols have been shunned since the parliament resumed in September and especially during the budget defence sessions with ministries, departments and agencies on the 2022 Appropriation Bill.
A body sanitiser, which was meant to spray persons as they walk into the White House section, through it, has been removed.
Agada, who said he is also a member of the steering committee on COVID-19, however, said the National Assembly complex housed not only Federal Government workers but also lawmakers, their constituents, private businesses and journalists. He partly said, “The National Assembly is one out of the federal institutions that commenced reopening earlier than others, to allow the legislators to go in. You will agree with me that the National Assembly, through the (political) leadership and the management, was proactive by setting up a steering committee.“
We equally have a vaccination centre – not like the general ones. We have it here in the National Assembly, so the vaccination had commenced in the National Assembly over time and before that directive came.
“The National Assembly is not like a strictly-civil service environment where you don’t expect to have visitors coming in. This is a public institution and you know that in the last few weeks, even up till now, the budget (defence) sessions have been on and we have interactions from people of the civil society, private and public sectors as well as constituents and journalists.
“We may have to subject over 300 journalists…that you must show your vaccination card. You can imagine that kind of confusion that we will cause…360 members (of the House of Representatives), 109 senators.”
Agada stated that the National Assembly had been proactive, with Tuesday and Thursday dedicated to vaccination of members of the community. “We have more than enough vaccines that are here. So, if you don’t see us doing that (enforcement), know that the National Assembly – we are not just the staff – is a community of our own,” he said.
The management’s spokesman added, “The enforcement that you are looking for if we do it that way, it is the same you people (journalists) that will run to press to say that the National Assembly stops people from coming in to defend budget and other things. But within the staff, we have been having vaccination going on and records are there for you to verify.”
When asked about apathy, should workers be allowed to decide on taking the jabs instead of enforcement of the order, Agada asked, “Have you found time to look at the legality of the enforcement? Are you aware that those things are being challenged or not?”He added, “We are doing our bit without making it sensational.”,,