N’assembly clerk seeks special salary structure, job security for legislative aides

Kamoru Ogunlana, clerk of the national assembly, says there is a need for the creation of a distinct salary structure for legislative aides working with the 469 federal lawmakers in both chambers.

Ogunlana spoke in Abuja on Tuesday at a three-day capacity-building training organised by the national assembly in collaboration with Research Enterprise Systems (RES) for legislative aides.

The clerk said the call became necessary to address the peculiar financial and structural challenges facing legislative aides.

“We are not unaware of the challenges you face,” he told participants at the workshop.

“Although legislative aides are political appointees, your conditions of service are tied to the template of career civil servants, which appears not to take cognisance of your peculiar needs.

“Unlike the career civil servant, your appointments do not guarantee job security, tenure is largely dependent on your principals, and ranking is often not based on qualifications or competence.

“Furthermore, there is currently no comprehensive law or guidelines clearly defining the duties and responsibilities of the various cadres of legislative aides.

“This leaves gaps that sometimes expose you to arbitrary decisions and unfair treatment.

“The present management believes it is time to address these systemic issues.

“We are advocating that the National Assembly Service Commission and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission should consider developing a distinct salary structure and conditions of service that reflect the unique nature of your work.

“We also believe the qualifications for appointments should be reviewed to attract competent and experienced personnel.

“Equally important is the need for mechanisms to prevent arbitrary termination of appointments by principals.”

Saviour Enyiekere, chairman of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), urged legislative aides to be more knowledgeable and skilful than their principals to contribute meaningfully to legislative work.

“Your effectiveness will reflect on the quality of output in both chambers of the national assembly,” Enyiekere said.

The training programme was attended by different categories of aides, including chiefs of staff to the presiding officers, special advisers, and senior legislative aides (SLAs) to lawmakers.