On Wednesday, October 25, a bill to extend the retirement age of National Assembly staff passed Second Reading in the House of Representatives. The bill sponsored by Deputy Majority Leader of the House, Hon. Aliyu Sani Madaki (NNPP; Kano), proposes a retirement age of 65 years or 40 years of service, whichever is earlier. The current retirement age for staff of the National Assembly is 60 years or 35 years of service. The sponsor and other Members who spoke in favour of the bill noted that an extended retirement age will contribute towards maintaining experienced staff in the National Assembly, improve the efficiency in their work, as well as boost their morale to deliver on legislative services. The bill was referred to the Committee on Public Service Matters for further legislative action.
The bill was proposed in the 7th , 8th and 9th National Assembly sessions but failed to pass. While the proposal is seen as a welcome development for some staff of the National Assembly, some others believe that it could have the adverse effect of stagnating growth through the ranks of the National Assembly Civil Service. It has also been described by some observers as a ploy by high ranking staff to extend their current tenure.