Politics
Sen. U-turns And Approves Bill To Prolong The Tenure of National Assembly Employees
AbilltoincreasethetenureofNationalAssemblyemployeesfrom60to65yearshasbeenapprovedbytheSenate. AfterbeingrejectedonFebruary22,thebillwaspassedbytheHouseofRepresentativesandwaspresentedtotheSenateforconcurrenceduringplenaryonThursday. SenateLeaderBamideleOpeyemi(APC,Ekiti)re-presentedtheproposedlegislation,titled“ABillforanActtomakeprovisionforretirementageofstaffofNationalAssemblyServiceandForOtherrelatedMatters,”forapproval.
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Opeyemi, while leading the debate, said that corrections had been made on the bill with proper and more extensive inputs in the various clauses.
He said special regards had also been paid to global best practices, including the definition of who a legislative officer is in civilised and more advanced democracies, especially the United States and the United Kingdom.
“These countries had adopted the standard we want to adopt, in terms of need to establish and strengthen institutional memories by ensuring a certain retirement age threshold for legislative officials,” he said.
Opeyemi said he had done a lead debate and hence, urged the Senate to pass the bill for concurrence.
DuringtheFebruary22debate,senatorsfiercelyopposedthebill.SenatorEnyinnayaAbaribequestionedwhethertheNationalAssembly’semployees—whowerehiredbytheNationalAssemblyServiceCommission,orNASC—wereanydifferentfromthoseemployedbyothergovernmentagenciestothepointwheretheirserviceshouldbeextended. Thebill’ssponsorprovidedargumentsemphasizingspecialization,buttheformerdeputygovernorofAbiaStatecriticizedthem,statingthatnothinguniqueaboutNationalAssemblyemployeesjustifiedthe10thAssemblytakingontherole.
Inasimilarspirit,BornoSouthsenatorAliNdumeopposedthebill,statingthatitwouldnotbejusttofuturegenerationsoflawmakersiftheSenateupheldtheinterestsofasmallnumberofpeopleencapsulatedinit.
