The Senate has approved a bill for the extension of service for National Assembly employees from 60 to 65 years, following its passage in the House of Representatives. 

The bill, titled ‘A Bill for an Act to make provision for retirement age of staff of National Assembly Service and For Other related Matters’, was presented for concurrence by Senate Leader Bamidele Opeyemi.

During the plenary session on Thursday, the Senate reconsidered the bill after it was previously declined on February 22. 

Opeyemi, in leading the debate, highlighted the amendments made to the bill, incorporating more extensive inputs and aligning with global best practices observed in advanced democracies like the United States and the United Kingdom.

Opeyemi emphasized the importance of establishing and strengthening institutional memories by instituting a certain retirement age threshold for legislative officials, a standard adopted by advanced democracies. 

“These countries had adopted the standard we want to adopt, in terms of need to establish and strengthen institutional memories by ensuring a certain retirement age threshold for legislative officials,” he said.

He urged the Senate to pass the bill for concurrence based on these considerations.

It’s noteworthy that the bill, which would potentially benefit the current Clerk of the National Assembly, Sani Tambuwal, faced significant opposition during its initial presentation. 

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe questioned the rationale behind extending the service tenure, emphasizing that National Assembly staff employed by the National Assembly Service Commission should not be treated differently from staff in other government agencies.

Similarly, Senator Ali Ndume expressed opposition to the bill, cautioning against favoring the interests of a few individuals at the expense of broader considerations.