The Office of the Senate President on Thursday said the sacking of aides to Senate President Bukola Saraki was to increase effectiveness and efficiency in future service delivery.

The Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Yusuf Olaniyonu while briefing newsmen on Thursday said the downsizing was based on Saraki’s discretion based on the recommendations of the comprehensive human resource audit review committee which was set up in December 2016.

“It is entirely his (Saraki’s) discretion to determine who works with him, those who are helping his agenda and those areas where gaps need to be filled. This is important for the efficiency of the office,” Olaniyonu said.

He added: “It is not a negative thing, it is to ensure that the office is more invigorated and better positioned. It is possible some new people may also be joining in the areas where lapses have been observed. It is good for a public official like the Senate President to have given everybody the opportunity to serve. The last 24 months were good enough to determine who would fit into his agenda for the next 22 months of the lifespan of this Senate”.

He added that the restructuring was made up of those considered fit to remain in office, those who needed to be removed and the fresh hands that needed to be brought in to carry out the repositioning exercise in Saraki’s office.

Among the aides whose sack letters were issued in batches through the Chief of Staff to President of the Senate, Hakeem Baba Ahmed included Mrs. Folashade Adigun, the Head of Administration and Arthur Ndigwe, the Director of Protocol whom Saraki inherited from the previous administration.