By Henry Umoru
The National Assembly has kicked against what it described as externally influenced promotion of its staff not backed by merit, as provided for in the National Assembly Service Act 2014 and applicable scheme of service.
The National Assembly has also rejected existing ad hoc arrangements of personnel training which, according to it, are not sustainable and lack the institutional capacity the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies ( NILDS) is known for.
Speaking on Saturday at the commencement of a three-day retreat for top management of the National Assembly and National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), held at Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, Clerk to the National Assembly, CNA, Kamoru Ogunlana said the National Assembly service is a professional one, requiring staff to be appointed, promoted and developed principally based on merit, competence, experience and performance as stipulated by the National Assembly Service Act 2014.
“Where appointments or promotions are influenced by considerations outside the National Assembly Service Act 2014, and the applicable Scheme of Service, we risk creating serious institutional consequences, that is, judicial review, administrative embarrassment and institutional instability,” he warned.
The CNA noted that the consequences may not be limited to the individuals involved; they may also affect the entire Service, adding, “When seniority, cognate experience and competence is subordinated to ‘where you come from’ or other considerations, we may find ourselves with positions occupied by people who do not possess the requisite competence, experience or capacity for those responsibilities.
“The result can be an institution with too many people in positions and too few people with the capacity to perform those positions effectively.”
On training, the CNA said time had come for NASS to look inward for training of its personnel through an affiliate agency, the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies ( NILDS), on account of Institutional capacity and scarce resources.
He said: “Our staff require continuous exposure to legislative practice, parliamentary procedure, policy analysis, research, digital technologies, public financial management, ethics, leadership and emerging global practices in parliamentary administration.
“The present ad hoc arrangement of training personnel of service is not sustainable given our limited financial resources.
“In this regard, I believe we should make more deliberate use of the considerable institutional capacity of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) as the central professional platform for the training and development of staff of the National Assembly Service.”
In his message, the Executive Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), Chief Saviour Enyiekere, said the commission remains committed to fostering a disciplined, competent, responsive and forward – looking legislative service in which merit is recognised, due process respected, staff welfare receives appropriate attention and every officer encouraged to contribute meaningfully to institutional progress.
Both the President of the Senate, Senator Godswill Akpabio and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Tajudeen Abbas, were represented at the ceremony.
The post NASS kicks against externally influenced staff promotion appeared first on Vanguard News.