“Why revised N/Assembly workers service condition must be implemented”

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

Any attempt to undermine the implementation of the revised National Assembly condition of service has been said, would amount to a rape on democracy.

A human right activist, Barr Victor Egwim who made the clarification stated that the revised condition for service was targeted at putting the Nigeria Parliamentary Workers at par with international standard.

He called on the Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawan and the Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, for rapid intervention, adding that the commission has to be rescued from the hands of enemies of democracy, stating that the new regulation has been in operation since the 8th Assembly and currently being adopted at the State Houses of Assembly.

The call for the suspension of the reviewed conditions of service according to Egwim was a calculated attempt at witch-hunting the head of NASS Bureaucracy, stressing that it looks like the overall head is the target.

“The current leadership of NASS workers have no doubt proving their worth, by its prompt delivery on the following projects, which includes; construction of long-abandoned and disused car park, construction and opening of the Arterial road within the NASS complex, rehabilitation of the water supply system, erosion control works at the police gate of NASS complex, provision of security gadgets to enhance security and security surveillance, provision of uninterrupted internet access and back-up, automation of NASS offices, ongoing renovation of NASS complex, enhanced trainings, and ongoing negotiation to boost power supply to the NASS complex amongst others,” he stated.

He recalled, according to a Commissioner of the National Assembly Commission, who happened to come from the North Central State, who stated that when they resumed in February 2020, they discovered that there was a new service condition in place, amended at the time the current Senate President and the Speaker, House of Representatives were leaders of their various chambers.

The current leadership he expressed should be commended for such innovation, he said, “During this period, when the report got to the Senate, they thought it wise to make it 40 years of service and 65 years retirement age. We all know that the legislature is the youngest arm of government, because it is just about 21 years old, as it took effect when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo became the president, while the Executive and the Judiciary have been in existence since 1960.

“They discovered that the retirement age of 35 years and 60 years does not allow the officers to give back to the commission after being trained. This is because when they are supposed to be at the peak of their service, they would be exiting the service based on retirement age. However, the commission ends up calling them back as consultants and pay them ten times more than their annual salaries, which is not healthy for the nation.

“Moreover, the Union embraced it and agreed that it is better to extend service years instead of wasting money to hire them as consultants after retirement, so that they can render the services needed maximally before they can retire. That was why Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN), initiated the amendment. PASAN stated the fact that in the Judiciary, the judges retire at the age of between 70 and 75, and that in the tertiary institutions, Professors retire between 70 to 75 years, and in the health institutions, medical professors retire between 70 to 75 years, which necessitated them to increase the retirement age of parliamentary workers since they are very specific,” he said.

The human right activist further said, “The NASS which was headed by Ahmed Lawan and Femi Gbjabiamila concurred and amended it. So it was amended for the benefit of everyone, and not for any specific individual. Obstructing the implementation is not in the interest of the national service, but for selfish reasons.”