Ondo Assembly commits four bills to Committees for scrutiny

….. Adopts report on career adjustment and reconstruction

By Tolulope Eniola

The Ondo State House of Assembly has committed four bills to various standing committees for proper legislative scrutiny following their successful passage through second reading during plenary on Tuesday.

The bills include a bill for a law to amend the Ondo State law commission law, 2001, and a bill for a law to amend the Ondo State Office of the public defender law, 2004, both of which were referred to the House Committee on Judiciary and Public Petitions for proper scrutiny.

Similarly, a bill for a law to repeal the Ondo State haulage fees law, 2020, was committed to the House Committee on Commerce and Industry, while a bill for a law to amend the local government law, 2007, and other connected matters, was referred to the House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs.

The bills were committed to the respective committees after scaling second reading during plenary presided over by the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Olamide Oladiji.

Earlier, the Leader of the House, Hon. Olatunji Oshati, moved motions for the bills to be read for a second time and committed to the appropriate committees.

The motions were separately seconded by Hon. Oluwole Ogunmolasuyi, Hon. Dr Chris Ogunlana, Hon. Oluwarotimi Abitogun and Hon. Nelson Akinsuroju.

Meanwhile, the report of the Ad-hoc Committee on career adjustment and reconstruction was presented before the House for consideration by the Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Stephen Abitogun.

Presenting the report, the committee recommended that the House of Assembly Service Commission should ensure strict compliance with public service rules regarding the proper channelling of applications, official communication and administrative procedures.

The committee further stated that all requests for career reconstruction must comply with stipulated timelines contained in relevant circulars and public service rules guiding appointments, promotions and conversions, except in cases where there is clear evidence that such requests validly predated the circulars.

It also recommended the establishment of a transparent and uniform framework for handling career reconstruction requests in order to eliminate inconsistencies and perceived bias, in line with the principles of fairness and equity contained in the public service rules.

According to the report, proper documentation and record-keeping of all personnel matters should be strictly enforced in compliance with public service rules on personnel records and service documentation.

The Committee equally stressed that cases involving inter-cadre transfers must strictly comply with provisions of the public service rules, particularly those relating to grade level adjustments and seniority.

It further advised that the practice of backdating conversions or promotions should be discontinued where such actions conflict with public service rules on seniority and may prejudice other officers.

The Committee also recommended that officers should be sensitised to their rights and obligations under the public service rules, including the need to exhaust all internal administrative remedies before seeking external redress.

In addition, the report called on the Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of similar cases in order to identify and correct any injustice, while ensuring fair treatment for all affected officers.

The Committee further urged relevant institutions, including the Office of Establishments and the Civil Service Commission, to provide clarifications on cadre equivalencies to ensure proper placement of transferred officers in accordance with public service rules governing appointments and transfers, among other recommendations, which were adopted by the lawmakers through a voice vote.