As succession crisis rocks the National Assembly Service Commission, NASC, over the choice of a Clerk to the National Assembly, CNA, a civil society group, Centre for Legislative Advocacy and Action, CLAA, has called on the chairman of the commission, Ahmed Kadi Amshi, to resign or face mass action.
There has been controversy on whether the present CNA, Amos Olatunde Ojo, should proceed on pre-retirement leave or continue in office until February 2023.
Olatunde was directed to proceed on leave but later asked to continue in office by the Chairman of the National Assembly and President of the Senate, Ahmed Lawan.
Reacting to the development, national coordinator of CLAA, Tanimu Ahmadu, blamed the confusion on the chairman of the NASC, who he accused issued a memo on July 4, 2022 setting the agenda for the mix up.
Ahmadu also questioned the rationale behind the rush to appoint an acting CNA if the Chairman properly understood the rules unless there was credence to bribery allegations rocking the commission in the hurried announcement of an acting CNA.
In the circular sighted by our correspondent demanding that every retiring official should go on three months pre retirement leave against the provision of service rules 100238.
Amshi referenced Section 100238 of the Public Service Rules; “Officers are required to give three months’ notice to retire from service before the effective date of retirement. At the commencement of the three months, officers should proceed immediately on the compulsory one-month pre-retirement workshop/seminar. For the remaining two months, retiring officers are expected to take necessary measures to put their records straight so as to facilitate the speedy processing of their retirement benefits”.
Ahmadu averred that it was incredulous that the assembly commission’s chairman is unable to understand the relevant section of the rule, stressing that it shows that he was incompetent, biased and incapable of continuing in office.
He called on the president of the senate Ahned Lawan to save the comission from a total collapse by ensuring that a more competent hand is appointed to run the affairs of the NASC.
“For a National Assembly Service Commission Chairman to be unable to correctly interpret the rules of the civil service is worrying, therefore, the whole confusion that has continued to engulf succession at the National Assembly bureaucracy. This situation if permitted to continue will erode the integrity and sanctity of the commission, hence, our demand that the chairman of the commission to step down,” the CLAA stated.
According to Ahmadu, it was even more worrying when the Head of Civil Service of the Federation had given “correct interpretation to the rules, yet the chairman believes he must have the final say even when it was outside his purview to do so. We, however, wish to commend the Senate President and Speaker of the House for doing the right thing.
“We call on the Clerk to use this period and tidy up whatever needs to done before February, while he should ensure that the smooth operations of the National Assembly bureaucracy run smoothly.”
Further, Ahmadu warned against any nepotistic appointment of a CNA, advising that only the most qualified and merited individual should be picked, stressing that anything short of it was recipe for crisis.