Those championing media campaigns against the process for the retirement and appointment of the Clerk of the National Assembly are scared of the detailed process required to engage an officer for that exalted office.
A coalition of civil society organisations said those kicking against the retirement process are bent on circumventing the rule and procedure of the civil service which enable the system to guarantee due process and competence in appointment.
The coalition, comprised of the Center for Public Accountability and Transparency (CPAT), People’s Alliance for Indigenous Rights (PAIR), Society for Civic and Gender Equity (SoCEGE) and Partnership for Good Governance (PPG) respectively represented by Okonkwo Emmanuel, Boniface O. Clement Jovita Jude and Kanjal Awan.
The coalition maintained that the retiring Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA) has three months to his effective retirement in February 14, 2023, for which the “the CNA, as we all know, has already given a notice of 3 months, to embark on retirement leave on February 14, 2023 in accordance with the rules of the civil service of the Federation.”
The coalition indicted those campaigning against the process as a danger to the civil service rule and its procedure.
In a press conference addressed on behalf of the coalition in Abuja on Sunday, the group said “We strongly believe that the story flying of “plans to influence members of the commission to appoint” a certain individual is planted by those afraid of going through the process.
“The job of the Clerk to the National Assembly includes: a chief adviser to both the president of the senate and the speaker of the House of Representatives and also, to communicate to all state Houses of Assembly, matters relating to the concurrence of the parliament in the tiers of government in Nigeria.
“So, the idea that only certain categories of staff can perform this duty has no basis in law. It is expected that Anyone who has risen to the levels of director and permanent secretaries should be well abreast of parliamentary operations and should be able to effectively run the office of the CNA.
“If it were, these people are building monuments of falsehood and disaffection.
