By Adelola Amihere
Against the backdrop of the revised conditions of service of the National Assembly by the 8th Assembly, a group under the auspices of African Leadership Strategy and Transparency Development Initiative (ALSTDI) has condemned the call in some quarters for its stoppage.
Recall that a group had called on the leadership of the National Assembly to stop the implementation of the amended condition of service revised by the 8th Assembly review the condition of service of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN).
The revised condition of service was sponsored by the current President of the Senate, Sen. Ahmad Lawan who was then the Majority Leader in the Senate and the current Speaker, Rt. Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila who was also the then Majority Leader in the House of Representatives setting retirement age at 65 years or after 40 years in the service during the 8th National Assembly
In a statement signed by the Executive Director, Ambassador Nelson Ossaieze, on Thursday said the implementation of the reviewed Act should be commended for being a genius and timely intervention borne out of patriotic zeal to sustain capacity, build a virile institution, and enhance knowledge management and productivity.
Ossaieze said the group’s assessment of this amendment revealed it was in conformity with global best practices and in the collective interest of the National Assembly as an institution adding that the problem is the age long retrogressive antic that has been the bane of most people inability to drive sustainable socio-economic and political development.
“The revised Act setting retirement age at 65 years or after 40 years in the service during the 8th National Assembly should be commended and not condemned for being a genius and timely intervention borne out of patriotic zeal to sustain capacity, build a virile institution, enhance knowledge management and productivity.
“If the above and many more are the expected deliverables, the question is why the deliberate attempt by some individuals and portfolio organizations under the guise of advocacy continue to embark on ignorant campaign against an initiative that has proven to add value to the National Assembly as an institution?
“It is upon the strength of our findings that we condemn the reckless distortion of facts by these purveyors of dangerous deceit with the sole aim of achieving a selfish end. The immediate impact of the amendments cannot be overemphasized as the problem of skills gap, which would have in no small measure affected the efficiency of the National Assembly was promptly addressed and this has brought an unprecedented transformation in the management and development of one of the most critical pivots upon which our nascent democracy is built,” he said.
He appealed to Nigerians to always ascertain the veracity of every information in public space especially those put out by merchants of confusion doing the bidding of their paymasters who play on the ignorance of unsuspecting public” by riding on the wings of unregulated social media space to further a myopic agenda.”
