National Conference: Federal Government rejects delegates’ request for aides’ allowance

Delegates pictured sleeping on the first day of the conference

The Federal Government has rebuffed request by some of the delegates to the ongoing national conference that their personal aides be paid by the government.

Each of the delegates are to receive N12m for the three months exercise.

The allowance include money for accommodation, transportation, part of feeding (the delegates are to have free lunch at the venue of the conference.

However, the delegates are expected to have aides such as drivers and personal assistants in order to ease their works and movements.

However, some of the delegates met in Abuja on Monday shortly after the inauguration of the conference by President Goodluck Jonathan where the welfare of their aides was discussed.

The delegates, it was gathered, wanted the Federal Government to take over the allowances of their aides.

While some of them at the informal meeting said that the issue be raised during plenary, thinking that the N12m was meant for them and not their aides, a few of them were said to have disagreed.

In her response, the Conference Secretary, Mrs. Valeria Azinge, said there was no provision for personal aides of the delegates.

She informed the delegates that the Federal Government had monetised their accommodation, transportation and sitting allowances.

“You will all receive your pay slips in two weeks intervals and we won’t disclose what is paid to you in the open. Each and every one of you is however free to divulge it, but that will not come from us,” Azinge said.