By Taiye Odewale Abuja
President of the Senate, Bukola Saraki, yesterday explained that the sacking of about 100 out of over 200 aides working with him within the last two years “was driven by the need for effi cient service delivery and not targeted in anyway against inherited staff ” as being rumoured by some persons within the National Assembly.
Saraki had about four months ago, issued letter of disengagement from service to the aff ected staff within the last one week, many of whom were perceived to be inherited staff from his predecessor, the former Senate President, David Mark, like the Director of Protocol, Arthur Ndiwe, who had spent a total of 10 years on the position, having served Mark for eight years before continuing with Saraki in June 2015. Th e Senate president, in a clarifi cation made by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olaniyonu, at an emergency press briefi ng, disclosed that the sack aff ected both inherited and personally appointed staff .
He said the motive behind the exercise was nothing but effi ciency in service delivery. “Th e restructuring that has just taken place on the workforce in the offi ce of the Senate President being reported as mass sack in the media, was meant to reposition the offi ce for service delivery the outcome of which has aff ected three categories of staff in diff erent ways. “Th e fi rst category includes those that have been found capable and competent to continue with their job like all the entire members of the media unit. “Th e second category has those earlier seconded from the National Assembly bureaucracy to serve in the offi ce of the Senate President but now directed to go back to their civil service job like the head of Administration, Mrs. Folashade Adigun. “Th e third category has those whose services within the last two years were not all that satisfactory in the eye of the committee set up by the Senate President to carry out the repositioning exercise of his offi ce.” Th e aff ected aides 80% of which were largely believed to be inherited staff ers were issued sack letters through the offi ce of the Chief of staff , Hakeem BabaAhmed
