Anger is brimming within the rank and file of the national assembly over a move by the senate to pass a bill that would extend the retirement age of staff of the institution’s civil service commission.
The bill is seeking to increase the retirement age to 65 years or 40 years of service, whichever comes first.
This is against the current retirement width of 60 years or 35 years of service.
Should the bill be passed, the upper legislative chamber would be concurring with a similar legislation passed by the house of representatives in 2023.
Aliyu Madaki, a lawmaker from Kano, while leading a debate on the general principles of the bill, said the extension would enhance the efficiency of staff of the national assembly.
If the bill is concurred to by the upper legislative chamber, the tenure of Sani Tambawal Magaji, clerk of the national assembly, and over 150 staff who were expected to retire in November, would be extended by five years.
Magaji, born in 1965, joined the national assembly in April 1990, according to a document seen by TheCable.
The clerk has spent 34 years in service as it were.
