Lawan advocates for more resources to be deployed for capacity building for 10th NASS

**Expresses concern over 70% turnover with attendant lost capacity, skills

The President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan has advocated for more resources to be deployed for capacity building of incoming members of the 10th National Assembly

Lawan spoke when he recieved the executive chairman of the National Assembly service Commission (NASC) Engineer Ahmed Amishi at the presentation of the three year (2020, 2021 and 2022) report of the NASC to the President of the Senate on Thursday at the NASS Complex Abuja.
Lawan’s comment is coming against the backdrop that more than 70% of the members of the 9th NASS are not returning which he said is not cost effective.
“Everybody knows that the turnover rate have been very very costly because and this is without prejudice to anybody, costly in the sense that when you have only about 30% of the members of the 9th NASS that will return, you know that you have lost the capacity, you have lost the trainings, skills, enterprise and so on.
“This means the 10th NASS needs to hit the gound running and I used the word cost because what it means is that the 10th NASS will have to make provisions immediately for capacity building for members of the NASS that would be resuming if we want to achieve our worth and our set target.

“Everybody is enthusiastic, ready to come in and continue to build and make Nigeria better

“I am using this channel to sound the advise that National Assembly needs more resources for capacity building for members of the NASS that are coming as well as those staff that we will be working with.
“I also want to add here that National Assembly, NASC the management of the NASS as well as the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic studies (NILDS) should brace up for more work
This he said is because the members of the 10th National Assembly which is yet to be innaugurated are very enthusiastic.
While commending the commission for the good work he said , “When your names were submitted for confirmation, the quality of the people on the list, we knew without doubt that this is the NASC, the commission will work hard, that will remain focused, and deliver and you have delivered.
“Three years or more down the line, today we are recieving the 2020, 2021 and 2022 annual reports of the various activities that you have engaged or embarked upon
“Some of the activities were not easy ones infact we inherited a very tedious situation and we did not care who was involved. All we wanted was justice, fairness, we wanted process, we wanted procedure and therefore the National Assembly Service Commission and the leadership of the national assembly worked tirelessly to ensure that particular major issue of extension of services of about 140 of our staff at that time was appropriate or not.
He said he was elated to see that the issue was resolved.
According to him, the staff that worked in NASS needs to be motivated
“There is no motivation than to be aware that you can rise through and be whatever you can become so I congratulate you and commend you for the various activities that you have done so far
“The National Assembly can not be efficient and effective without a staff of the assembly that is motivated that is trained and retrained to provide the services that are necessary for the National Assembly members to perform their duties
“So it is in the interest of members of the National Assembly and the country that the national Assembly service commission functions optimally to provide the services that are required for the benefit all in the National Assembly ecosystem.
“Though it is two months remaining for the 9th National Assembly to come to an end, believe me we are holding our heads very high, we believe we have done so well working with you, between the two Chambers of the National Assembly we can say we have done well working with the executive arm of government and of course the outcomes are there for everyone to see.
“Whatever we have done would not have been achieved without the NASC and the staff of the National Assembly.
“Infact the staff have been very wonderful, very supportive and we believe that this is the kind of staff that we should always have and will also as an Assembly and as a commission need to continue to give the staff the kind of motivation that they need
I know we have worked so hard to get the bills
According to him, clerk of the National Assembly has disclosed that they have worked through all the processes to ensure all outstanding obligations to the staff are fufilled saying that it is coming out very soon
“All our staff including those who have been held outside will have their dues paid to them and this is a good thing to celebrate because it is their right, those who serve should also be serviced to be loyal and supportive. I want to once again commend the NASC and our staff for being very wonderful”

The Executive Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) has expressed profound gratitude to the Senate President for his personal interventions into the various industrial actions embarked upon by the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) in relation to the payment of staff allowances, adding that had it not been for his interventions, “the industrial actions by PASAN would have paralyzed the activities of the National Assembly”.

He also thanked Lawan for his support to the construction of a befitting National Assembly Service Commission Office Building within the premises of the National Assembly Complex.

The Executive Chairman tol of NASCd the Senate President that the Commission has promoted 2,745 staff, did conversion of appointment of 447 staff handled 5 disciplinary cases.

Otherachievements of the Commission, according to Amishi are payment of all pending arrears arising from the consequential adjustment of the minimum wage, while certain allowances due to staff were regularly paid.

“The Commission has ensured appropriate appointments into all existing vacancies regularly with competent and experienced personnel within the service to ensure productivity and orderliness, taking into cognizance the guidelines provided in the National Assembly Service Act, 2014 and Extant Public Service Rules.

He said the Commission has developed a Training Manual for the Service and this is being implemented accordingly. Appropriate Capacity Building trainings are being undertaken.

Legislative Aides are also not left out as they are being trained annually by the Commission to improve their performance as they render services to the legislators.