South-West Leaders Push for National Assembly Commission Chair

Kunle Akogun

28 June 2011

In a move aimed at a possible redress of the perceived exclusion of the South-west geo-political zone from principal political offices in the current dispensation, some leaders of the zone have launched a campaign for the appointment of the next Chairman of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) from the zone.

The tenure of incumbent Chairman of the board of the Commission will come to an end in October this year and it was learnt that the authorities have already flagged off a search for the likely nominees into the 12 member board and the Chairman of the Commission.

NASC is the body empowered to regulate issues of recruitment, promotions and remunerations of National Assembly staff.

The National Assembly Service Commission Act, 2000, which replaced the National Assembly Commission Act Cap 236, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990, provides that the board shall comprise of 12 members, two from each of the six geo-political zones in the country.

The South West currently has one commissioner on the NASC board, following the death of the second commissioner, Surveyor Enoch Ayoyemi Olaniyan last year.

Those canvassing the appointment of a South-west candidate as Chairman of the Commission are said to be rooting for the incumbent Commissioner from the zone, Dr. Adekola Oluremi Bolarinwa, who they believe, has garnered enough experience to run the Commission.

The Commissioner, a Sociologist and Public Administration expert, is said to have a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree.

“It is not just a question of zoning. There is the issue of competence as well. Elder Bolarinwa has gathered enough experience in the last five years that he has served as a Commissioner in the NASC.

“His appointment will be a matter of placing square pegs in square holes. It will therefore serve two purposes, correcting the political imbalance and placing the right candidate in position,” a source in the vanguard of the agitation said.

The source added that his appointment will also amount to a befitting compensation for the South West which was marginalised in the sharing of National Assembly positions.

Section 3(3) of the NASC Act 2000 indicates that in constituting the board, the President of the Senate in consultation with the Speaker of the House of Representatives will submit a proposed list of board members to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The nominees will then be subjected to confirmation of the Senate. A member of the Commission shall according to the Act hold office for a period of five years and can be re-appointed only once.

The NASC Act states Section 3(3) states: “The President of the Senate shall, upon consultation with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, submit to the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria a proposed list out of which the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria shall nominate for appointment a Chairman and members of the Commission.

AllAfrica – All the Time