The National Assembly has expressed concern that the functions of the legislature are grossly misunderstood by the general public leading to its underfunding.
The Senate President had also challenged Nigerians to a debate on the relevance of the National Assembly even as he queried the executive on the criteria for setting aside paltry N128b as its 2021 budget which he said was less than 1 percent of the N13tr national budget.
This was contained in a communique jointly signed by executive chairman, National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), Engineer Ahmed K. Amshi, Director General of National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies ( NILDS ), Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, and the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Arc. Ojo Olatunde Amos .
The Communique was the outcome of the retreat held by top management staff of NASS, NASC and NILDS at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja on Tuesday.
The communique, among others , states “that it is imperative to recognize the uniqueness of the legislative environment and develop modalities to better serve the lawmakers.
“It is necessary to ensure that the powers of the Clerk to the National Assembly as enshrined in Section 51 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as the Chief Executive & Accounting Officer) and the Powers of the National Assembly Service Commission as given in the Enabling Act are not undermined.
“There should be greater synergy between the National Assembly Service Commission, the National Assembly Management and the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies in providing support services to the legislature.
“All stakeholders in the Bureaucracy of the National Assembly should continuously ensure meaningful balance between politics and administration”.
It also harped on the relevance and contribution of the Staff Union in the National Assembly Service which makes it imperative to continuously interface and dialogue with the association to resolve grey areas that might arise from time to time.
It commended the President of the Senate, Lawan and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, for their support, encouragement and commitment to effective service delivery.
The retreat received papers and expert submissions on “Appraising the mandates of the National Assembly Service Commission and the National Assembly Management”; “Strengthening National Assembly Service Commission and National Assembly Relationship”; “Managing the Political Leadership of the National Assembly”; and “Strategies for Effective Collaboration between the National Assembly Service Commission and the National Assembly”.
It further emphasised the centrality of a cordial, consultative and result-oriented relationship as the basis for attaining the mandates of NASS and NASC.
It also recognised that the current size of legislative aides which stands at five aides per legislator, is inadequate for the proper functioning of the legislators.
