The newly inaugurated 6th National Assembly Service Commission has kicked off a weeklong induction/ retreat programme to map out a roadmap for its activities in the next five years.
Speaking in his address at the programme holding in Ikot-Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, executive chairman of the commission, Chief Dr Saviour Enyiekere, unveiled the policy thrust of the 6th Commission, pointing out that his commission would strive to prioritie the culture of excellence, integrity and public trust, professional development, employee welfare, accountability and transparency, dynamism, and strengthening of relationship with stakeholders. He also highlighted the removal of stagnation of staff and digitisation of activities of the Service as the ideals the 6th NASC would pursue.
A statement issued by the deputy-director, Information/ Spokesperson of NASC, Emmanuel Nwokpoku Anyigor, said the induction/retreat programme, which was facilitated by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre (PLAC) with support from the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), was declared open by the president of the Senate, Senator Godwill Obot Akpabio. Senator Akpabio, who was represented by the chairman of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, Senator Cyril Fasuyi, described the executive chairman and commissioners as “Stewards of a Sacred trust – a trust reposed in you by the Nigerian people to sustain and strengthen the machinery of our legislative arm.”
According to him, the commission’s mandate was the sinew and spine upon which the strength and stability of our National Assembly depend.
He enjoined the new commission to strive for excellence in its activities and pledged the Leadership of the National Assembly’s support for its success.
In his keynote address, the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly speaker, Rt. Hon. Elder Udeme James Otong noted that the National Assembly Service Commission held a strategic role in the National Assembly as the incubator or engine room for providing efficient and effective manpower resources for law-making. “Your task is therefore critical and fundamentally strategic. You are all managers of the engine that drives democratic governance,” he told his audience.
He urged the new commission to strive to build a legacy that would stand the test of time.
In his capacity as the chairman of the Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service, Senator Cyril Fasuyi noted that the commission served a dual purpose of serving as the institutional memory of the Legislature, preserver of the procedural wisdom of the past, and motivator of a capable forward-facing workforce equipped to navigate the complexities of a rapidly evolving democratic landscape.
Also, the chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Service Matters, Hon Sani Bala, urged the commission to actively participate in the ongoing repeal of the National Assembly Service Act to ensure that appropriate legal provisions were enshrined in the Act to drive the reforms the 6th Commission intended to champion. He stated that while his committee would oversee the commission strictly to ensure service delivery, it would also help provide it with all the commission’s needs to perform optimally.
The Commission’s secretary, Mr Lucky U. Ikharo, pointed out that the Induction/Retreat was organised to brief the new commissioners on the commission’s past activities and discuss the way forward. The programme’s theme is “Vision Driven Leadership: Fostering an Ethical, Sustainable and Future-Ready Workforce.”
