By Julius Nsikak
Fresh controversy has erupted within the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly as allegations mount that parliamentary staff are being arbitrarily posted to ministries without due process.
The Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Udeme Otong, and the Head of the Civil Service, Elder Effiong Essien, are alleged to be behind the controversial postings, which union leaders describe as a blatant abuse of power.
The Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), Akwa Ibom State Chapter, has issued a strongly worded protest outlining detailed points of disagreement with the explanations offered by the leadership at a recent meeting. The Union insists that the postings violate established rules, amount to selective victimisation, and undermine the autonomy of the Assembly.
PASAN argues that the Civil Service Commission and the Assembly Service Commission are two separate entities, each with its own powers, functions, and disciplinary procedures. “Their functions and regulations cannot be interchanged,” the Union stressed, adding that the move was an unlawful conflation of jurisdictions.
It further emphasised that no proven misconduct had been established against the affected staff to justify what it termed “unceremonious postings”. Even if an offence had been alleged, PASAN pointed out, the Assembly Service Commission has its own disciplinary mechanisms to handle infractions.
The redeployments, PASAN maintained, directly contravene the Constitution, the Public Service Rules (PSR), and the Assembly Service Handbook. “This amounts to a breakdown in adherence to due process,” the Union declared. Leaders also expressed alarm that the entire process was conducted without proper written documentation. In public service practice, PASAN argued, “all actions must be backed by official documentation in black and white for record and reference purposes.” In this case, such documentation was said to be “conspicuously absent.”
In a surprising twist, the Committee allegedly cited “diabolism” as one of the justifications for the redeployments. PASAN dismissed this as baseless, stressing that no evidence was provided. “It is troubling that, while claiming to protect the Assembly from such allegations, staff are merely redeployed to the Civil Service where they allegedly continue the supposed acts, without evidence being provided,” the Union noted.
The Union further accused the leadership of selectively implementing an alleged Executive Order. While certain staff were abruptly reposted, other directives were ignored. PASAN cited the case of three individuals whose pay points were moved, and one person who retired with full allowances despite not being an Assembly staff member.
The document also highlighted repeated and irregular transfers of three staff members within less than two years, in some cases across four different MDAs. Mrs. Idungafa was shifted between General Services (March 2023), Audit Services (April 2023), and the Ministry of Power (July 2023). Mr. Jeremiah Efe was moved from the Accountant-General’s Office (March 2023) to the Abuja Liaison Office (May 2023), the Deputy Governor’s Office (January 2025), and the Ministry of Economic Development (January 2025). Mr. Monday Akpan was transferred from the Accountant-General’s Office (March 2023) to Life Enhancement (March 2023), Special Services (July 2025), then back to Life Enhancement (August 2025). Union leaders said these repeated transfers, far from being routine, represent “irregular and prejudicial victimisation.”
The redeployed workers, speaking to this reporter, expressed dismay. “It is quite unfortunate that on that day in March 2023, a posting letter was brought to us, directed from the Office of the Head of Service, posting us to the Accountant-General’s office and other MDAs. The shocking part was that we are not staff of the AG. The House of Assembly is autonomous, it stands on its own,” one worker lamented.
Speaking personally, Mr. Monday Akpan explained: “The Accountant-General cannot transfer us, he cannot train us, he cannot promote us. He was not the one who employed us. The House of Assembly has its own Commission, the Assembly Service Commission. I was employed there on 5th June 2011, so I am a full staff of the Assembly Service Commission.”
He stressed that if any staff misconduct occurred, it would have been the responsibility of the Commission to set up a disciplinary panel and decide the appropriate sanction, whether demotion, suspension of salary or denial of promotion. Akpan added: “In all my years at the Assembly, I never received a query. I diligently carried out my duties as Cashier and was never found wanting. Until the day of the posting, I was performing my job without issue. Yet, within two years, I have been tossed around different offices in flagrant breach of the rule that postings must last a minimum of two years. This is punitive and unlawful.” He further appealed to the Governor to intervene, describing the situation as “punitive postings.”
Workers also questioned why one of their colleagues, Barr. Bassey Umoren, continued to have his pay point run from the Assembly Complex until retirement, enjoying full benefits, while others were arbitrarily redeployed.
PASAN warned that the postings are unprecedented in Nigeria’s democratic practice. “We are unaware of any precedent where postings were carried out outside the Judiciary into the MDAs. This current action therefore sets a troubling and unjustifiable deviation in the Legislature,” the Union maintained.
Meanwhile, a Labour lawyer, Barr. Victor Idiong, cited Section 1 of the House of Assembly Service Commission Law, Cap. 66, Laws of Akwa Ibom State 2022, which vests powers of appointment, promotion, transfer, and disciplinary control solely in the Assembly Service Commission. “The posting or transfer was not initiated by the Assembly Service Commission, nor was it done in consultation with the Commission. It is therefore a total breach of the law.
The proper process should have been initiation by the Assembly Service Commission, notification to the Civil Service Commission, consultation and agreement, and then transfer by the Assembly Service Commission,” Idiong explained.
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Akwa Ibom State Council, led by Comrade Sunny James, is said to be closely monitoring the situation. Stakeholders warn that unless the issue is resolved, the Assembly may face serious industrial unrest capable of paralysing legislative activities.
The NLC is agitating that the posted workers be returned to the Assembly, where their service records exist. Questions are also being raised as to why Barr. Bassey Umoren, one of the four deployed workers, was exempted and allowed to enjoy the upgrade to CONLESS and the 2024 approved salary arrears by Governor Umo Eno, while others were sidelined.
For now, the matter raises critical questions: Why was due process sidestepped? Are staff being targeted for political reasons? And what does this say about respect for the rule of law in the state legislature? As PASAN’s ultimatum approaches, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly faces one of its most significant integrity tests in recent memory.
