BY AHMED AKANBI
The National Assembly has warned against staff promotions driven by external influence and ethnic considerations, insisting promotions must be based strictly on merit.
The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, said the practice violates the National Assembly Service Act 2014 and threatens institutional stability.
He spoke weekend at the opening of a three-day retreat for top management and the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) at Transcorp Hilton, Abuja.
Ogunlana said the National Assembly Service is a professional service where appointments, promotions and development must be anchored on merit, competence, experience and performance.
He warned that allowing considerations outside the Act and Scheme of Service could expose the legislature to lawsuits, administrative embarrassment and instability.
According to him, such infractions do not affect only the beneficiaries but damage the efficiency of the entire Service.
”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,” he said.
He added that the result is an institution with many people in positions but few with capacity to deliver.
On capacity building, Ogunlana faulted the current ad-hoc training system for personnel as unsustainable and wasteful.
He said staff require continuous training in legislative practice, parliamentary procedure, policy analysis, research, digital technology, public finance, ethics and leadership.
Ogunlana urged the Service to adopt the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS) as its central training platform, citing its institutional capacity and cost-effectiveness.
In his goodwill message, NASC Chairman, Chief Saviour Enyiekere, reaffirmed commitment to a disciplined, competent and responsive legislative service built on merit, due process and staff welfare.