At least 30 senior officials of the National Assembly, including the Clerk to the National Assembly, Magaji Tambawal, are set to retire following President Bola Tinubu’s rejection of a bill aimed at extending the tenure of parliamentary staff.
The bill, which sought to raise the retirement age to 65 or allow for 40 years of service, was passed by the 10th Assembly but was not approved by the President, who effectively sealed the fate of many long-serving officials.
Tambawal, who began his pre-retirement leave on November 1, 2024, will officially retire in February 2025. In the meantime, he has handed over his responsibilities to his deputy, Kamouroudeen Ogundele.
Tambawal, who was appointed Acting Clerk in 2022 and confirmed in March 2023, is among a number of senior officials nearing retirement age.
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The wave of retirements, which also includes the Clerk to the Senate, Chinedu Akabueze, and the Deputy Clerk to the House of Representatives, will see the departure of several directors and other high-ranking staff within the National Assembly Service Commission.
These retirements follow the President’s refusal to approve the tenure extension bill, which had failed to gain approval during previous Assemblies but was passed in December 2023.
Sources have pointed out that many of the departing officials were employed during the early days of the National Assembly in 1991/1992, and are either reaching the statutory retirement age of 60 or have completed 35 years of service.
The turnover is expected to continue into 2025, with retirement in batches.
While the departures are a natural consequence of age and service length, concerns have been raised about the potential loss of institutional knowledge, with some questioning whether the National Assembly has the capacity to fill the vacancies adequately.
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There are also worries about the potential impact on the continuity and efficiency of the legislature, as these experienced staff members have played key roles in parliamentary proceedings.
Nevertheless, some sources within the National Assembly believe that the total number of retirements may not reach the anticipated 80, with around 46 officials expected to retire by the end of 2024.
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