By Mary Bassey, House Of Assembly Correspondent
The Chairman of the Cross River State House of Assembly Service Commission, Hon. Ntufam Victor Okon has applauded Governor Otu for lifting the ban on employment into the State Civil Service.
Ntufam Okon, made the commendation during an inaugural meeting of the Assembly Service Commission with staff of the Assembly in Calabar, where said Governor Otu’s commitment to improving the well-being of Cross Riverians is evident in his policies and projects.
The former Lawmaker, who represented Akamkpa 1 State Constituency in the House of Assembly between 1999 and 2003, advised Assembly staff to be dutiful, while promising that staff welfare matters including promotion will be given attention by the Commission.
“The Commission is here for service and it’s a collective service. we need to cooperate, we need the cooperation of the staff to succeed in our assignment. we will look into staff welfare matters. The Governor is very passionate about the Assembly being a former Lawmaker himself. The Deputy Governor is also a former Lawmaker, he left here barely a year ago, so the Assembly is in safe hands. I thank you all for the opportunity to interact with you. We must synergize in the interest of our State,” he said.
He expressed gratitude to the Speaker of the Assembly Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem for providing a temporary office space for the Commission to commence its official duties, while promising to regularly interact with the staff.
Also speaking, the Commissioner 1, Barr. Leonard Anyogo, recalled that the Assembly Service Commission Law was accented to since 2020. He reiterated that its duties include staff employment, confirmations, promotions, discipline, postings, training and retraining. He tasked staff to be committed to their duties and stressed the need for a symbiotic relationship between the Commission and the staff.
The other members of the Commission, Mr. Ayamba Akanya Asigbe, Mrs. Mary Eraye and Mr. Charles Okon Kutman who are Commissioners 2, 3 and 4 respectively urged all staff to be committed to their duties while thanking the government for their appointment and subsequent inauguration.
Earlier, the Clerk of the House Barr. Catherine Ubi welcomed the Chairman and Commissioners to the meeting stressing that the inauguration of the Commission was an answer to the prayers of the Management and staff of the Assembly.
In an interactive session, several staff of the Assembly including the Chairperson of the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) Florence Ebeku expressed appreciation to the Commission for the meeting while appealing for the early address of several staff challenges including promotions, implementation of the Consolidated Legislative Salary Structure (CONLESS), autonomy of the Assembly, absorption of temporary staff, provision office equipment amongst others.
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