N’assembly commission to staff: Some lawmakers may lack expertise — they need you

The National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) says it is prioritising the training and capacity development of its staff.

Ahmed Amshi, the chairman of the commission, spoke on Tuesday at the opening ceremony of a three-day workshop organised for NASC staff by the house of representatives, in Abuja.

Represented by Abubakar Tutare, commissioner representing north-east, Amshi said some legislators may not possess the expertise for lawmaking and, therefore, need the assistance of the NASC staff. 

According to him, training and capacity development will equip the staff to render such assistance to the lawmakers. 

“Where we are in the national assembly is where laws are made for the country. The laws are made by elected politicians, who may or may not have the knowledge or expertise of lawmaking,” he said. 

“For them to be successful, they will need your contribution and guidance and so they need the necessary training in law drafting, for good governance is very necessary.

“NASC will, at all times, give support to issues of staff training to develop capacity.

“Training is a priority under my tenure as chairman of NASC, because it is only in training and retraining that we can develop the capacity of our staff and the need to develop capacity cannot be over-emphasised.”

In his remarks, Yahaya Danzaria, clerk of the house of representatives, said staff should be trained on best global practices. 

“This is why this targeted training is crucial to further empower those officers to embrace the best international practices and be up to date in parliamentary evolutions in those specific legislative services,” he said.

“The imperative for having sustained and experienced officers in these aspects of legislative services will not be limited with just once-upon-a-time training.

“Indeed, the house of representatives management is already engaging experts within and outside Nigeria to provide technical support like PLAC in ensuring continuous capacity building of all cadres and to ensure that at no time, even with officers retiring from service, should we have a dearth of competent officers in the system.”

Danzaria also thanked Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of representatives, for the support to the NASC on organising the training.