By Bashir Opaluwa Idris
Kogi State Government has been urged to construct the second phase of the House of Assembly Complex to ensure a conducive office accommodation for the Lawmakers, Members of the Assembly Service Commission and the Staff.
The call followed a meeting held between the Members of the House of Assembly Service Commission and the Management team of the House of Assembly which was held at the Conference Room .
At the meeting, the Chairman of the Commission, Alhaji Andas Malik noted that the call for the building of the second phase of the complex has become imperative inview of the inadequate office accommodation for Members and Staff, stressing that the current administrative complex built since 1992 could hardly accommodate the number of Staff and Members of the Commission.
He cited the innovation that has taken place in states like Niger, Kano and Lagos and appealed for a new building to provide offices for the Lawmakers, Commission Members and Staff for enhanced productivity.
He also called for synergy and collaboration between both Managements to strengthen the workings of the Legislature, pointing out that the Members and Staff require training and restraining to meet up with the contemporary challenges on the job.
Alhaji Andas also called for more media coverage of the House activities to project the vibrant deliberations of the 8th Assembly to the World, saying the current Assembly was doing well in terms of legislative functions.
In his remarks, the Clerk of Kogi State House of Assembly and Head of Legislative Service, Alhaji Chogudo Ahmed Sule on his part, promised to continue to engage the leadership of the House to attract better welfare packages and improved working conditions for the Staff.
While commending the Commission Members for effectively performing their statutory roles, Chogudo observed that scarcity of funds was hampering some works in the legislative arm and expressed optimism that when the Assembly begins to enjoy financial autonomy, most of the issues raised by the Commission Chairman bothering on training and retraining of Staff, the Assembly Journal among others would be a thing of the past.
He assured that the State Government still has interest to build another structure that would conveniently accommodate the Lawmakers, Members of the Commission and all Staff, assuring the Commission Members of his determination to liaise with the leadership of the House to impress on the Executive to boost the workings of the Assembly thereby enhancing the good governance of the State.
A one time Member of the Kogi State House of Assembly, now Member of the Commission, Barrister Alfred Bello commended the immediate past Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, OON for the facelift given to the Complex and emphasized the need for the training of staff and creation of the Assembly ICT to project the legislative arm of Kogi State to the world.
The meeting had the Secretary of the Commission, Comrade Olorunmaiye J. Yemisi, the Deputy Clerk of the House, Mallam Ndagi Umar, among other Deputy Clerks and Directors in attendance.
