NASS Clerk: Group Threatens Mass Action Against NASC Boss

A civil society group, Centre for Legislative Advocacy and Action (CLAA), has demanded the immediate resignation of the Chairman of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), Ahmed Kadi Amshi or risk mass action.

There has been controversy over whether the outgoing Clerk of the National Assembly, Olatunde Ojo, should proceed on pre-retirement leave or continue in office until February 2023.

Ojo 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, Dr. Ahmed Lawan.

The National Coordinator of CLAA, Tanimu Ahmadu, in a statement yesterday, blamed the confusion on the Chairman of the NASC, whom he alleged, 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.

The group noted that every retiring official must proceed on three months pre-retirement leave against the provision of service rules 100238.

Ahmadu averred that it was incredulous that the assembly commission’s chairman was unable to understand the relevant section of the rule, stressing that it showed that he was incompetent, biased and incapable of continuing in office.

He, therefore, called on Lawan to save the comission from a total collapse by ensuring that a more competent hand was 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.

Ahmad noted that it was even more worrisome 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.