Sunday Ani

Lagos lawmakers on Monday passed the State House of Assembly Service Commission (Amendment) 2020 into law.

The bill, which is an amendment to the State House of Assembly Service Commission Law, 2015, became law after it scaled the third reading with overwhelming support of the all members present at Monday’s plenary session.

The law will give legal backing and operational modules to the new financial autonomy granted to the state legislatures and judiciary in the Section 121(3) of the fourth alteration of the 1999 constitution, upon which the president issued Executive Order on May 22,2020 for its immediate implementation.

The amended law, now waiting for Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s assent comprises 12 amendments and seven new sections.

Related News

Among the new amendments is Section 4, which deals with the tenure of the chairman and members of the commission.

According to the amended Section 4, “The Chairman and members of the Commission shall hold office for a term of five years, and may be eligible for re-appointment for a further term of five years only.”

Section 21 deals with the tenure of the Clerk of the House. It states inter alia: “The Clerk shall hold office for a period of four years and may be eligible for re-appointment for a further term of four (4) years only.”

Section 22 creates five deputy clerk positions to include Deputy Clerk (Legislative Matters), Deputy Clerk (Legislative Drafting and Legal Services), Deputy Clerk (Publication), Deputy Clerk (Administration and Human Resources) and Deputy Clerk (Finance and Accounts).

Among the newly created sections of the law are Sections 24 and 29 which deal with the Commission’s fund and payment of salaries, pensions, other remunerations and allowances payable to members, and staff of the Assembly respectively.

ReplyForward