The Clerk to the National Assembly, Kamoru Ogunlana, has called for a distinct salary structure for legislative aides, citing the unique financial and structural challenges they face in their roles.
Ogunlana made the appeal on Tuesday in Abuja during a three-day capacity-building training for aides, organised by the National Assembly in collaboration with Research Enterprise Systems (RES).
He noted that despite being political appointees, legislative aides’ conditions of service remain tied to the template of career civil servants, which does not reflect their peculiar circumstances.
“Although legislative aides are political appointees, your conditions of service are tied to the template of career civil servants, which appears not to recognise your unique needs,” he said.
The clerk explained that aides, unlike civil servants, lack job security since their tenure is tied to the lawmakers they serve, while ranking is often unrelated to 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,” he added.
Ogunlana urged the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission to design a salary structure and conditions of service that reflect the distinct nature of aides’ work.
He further called for stricter appointment qualifications to attract competent professionals and for safeguards against arbitrary dismissals.
“We believe qualifications for appointment should be reviewed to attract competent and experienced personnel,” Ogunlana said. “Equally important is the need for mechanisms to prevent arbitrary termination of appointments by principals.”
Chairman of NASC, Saviour Enyiekere, advised aides to continuously develop their knowledge and skills to support lawmakers effectively. “Your effectiveness will reflect on the quality of output in both chambers of the National Assembly,” he said.
The training brought together various categories of aides, including chiefs of staff to presiding officers, special advisers, and senior legislative aides (SLAs).
