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Some House of Representatives members in Abuja on Tuesday protested against alleged discrimination in the allocation of seats and offices for the members.

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

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, Tajudeen Abbas, called for calm, while assuring that the main Chamber which is currently undergoing renovation, would be completed before the House resumed from recess.

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 slight 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,” Mr Bukar-Ibrahim added.

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Uproar in House of Reps over seating arrangements and office allocation

In Abuja on Tuesday, approximately 100 members of the House of Representatives openly protested against alleged discrimination in the allocation of seats and offices for the members. The lawmakers expressed concern that this trend could impede legislative activities.

It was revealed that the responsibility for seat allocation was entrusted to the House Committee on Welfare, chaired by Rep. Olawale Raji (APC-Lagos).

The protesting lawmakers, mainly comprising first-timers, asserted that the seats allocated to them in one of the temporary chambers were unsuitable as they were assigned seats on the third floor. Additionally, some lawmakers were dissatisfied with the allocation of offices.

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

Speaker of the House, Tajudeen Abbas, called for calm in response to the protests, assuring members that the main chamber, which is currently undergoing renovation, will be completed before the House resumes from recess.

During the plenary session, there was a slight uproar, as confirmed by Khadijat Bukar-Ibrahim, Chairman of the Ad hoc Committee on Media. She explained that office allocation is the responsibility of the Welfare Committee, which has duly assigned offices to each member. Regarding the seating arrangements, she clarified that the temporary seating area does not have enough seats for all members to sit downstairs, thus some members have been accommodated upstairs.

Following the uproar, the Speaker has directed members to occupy any available seat downstairs, resulting in general contentment among the lawmakers.

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