The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Abbas Tajudeen, on Monday said he and the Senate president, Godswill Akpabio, are sponsoring bills seeking to make the appointment of Clerk to the National Assembly merit-based and more transparent.

The speaker disclosed this when the 5th Commission of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), led by the chairman, Engr Ahmed Kadi Amshi, presented its exit report to him on Monday in Abuja.

This was contained in a statement issued by the Special Adviser to the Speaker on Media and Publicity, Musa Abdullahi Krishi.

Abbas said the bills which seek to amend the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) Act are being co-sponsored with the Senate President Akpabio.

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Daily Trust reports that the Clerk to the National Assembly, who heads the bureaucratic arm of the National Assembly, oversees the workforce and administration of the complex, among other responsibilities.

The speaker, while decrying the controversies that usually surround the appointments of NASS clerks, said the proposed bills seek to address the situation.

He stressed that workers who have built their careers in the legislative line should be given the opportunity to head the bureaucracy of the federal parliament.

Speaker Abbas reaffirmed the steadfast commitment of the House to foster a strong and collaborative partnership with the NASC.

Earlier, while presenting a 13-page document to the speaker, Amshi highlighted the challenges and successes of the NASC in the last five years.

The chairman noted that the outgoing Clerk to the National Assembly, Sani Magaji Tambuwal, would retire in five days’ time, while the outgoing NASC board would be working with the incoming Clerk to the National Assembly, Barrister Kamoru Ogunlana, for only five days before the end of its tenure.