Nass Clerk: Who Is Afraid Of Omolori?

The Bureaucracy of the National Assembly has recently been thrown into an undue controversy over who occupies the office of the Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA) after the retiring Clerk, Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa. On April 20, the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) moved to arrest the controversy by announcing Mr. Mohammed Sani-Omolori as successor to Salisu Maikasuwa. To all well meaning watchers of the Assembly, that should put paid to insinuations around that office.

But what did we see? Commotion erupted and it appeared all hell was being let loose on an obviously simple matter. For starters, it is on record that at least five top officers in the National Assembly Bureaucracy who are designated as Permanent Secretaries are on the line for the highest management position in the Nigerian Legislature. Even at that there is the well known hierarchy that places everyone in his place. The laws of the land also give the NASC the powers of discipline and promotion over all staff of the Legislature, meaning that the Commission is well placed to determine the line of promotion at each juncture.

Following the announcement of Sani Omolori as Acting Clerk to the National Assembly by the Dr. Adamu Fika-led NASC on April 20, a letter surprisingly emanated from the Office of the Senate President on April 21, ordering the Commission to reverse the appointment. It was an unusual communication and Dr. Fika after due consultations replied the letter on April 26.

The NASC Chairman clarified that the decision to appoint Sani-Omolori as Acting Clerk to the National Assembly was taken at the Commission's 440^th meeting held on the April 20, 2016. He said the decision was taken because Mr. Benedict Efeturi, who is DCNA, is set to proceed on pre-retirement leave on August 2, twelve days before the incumbent Clerk, Salisu Maikasuwa will be due to hand over to a successor on August 13.

His explanation was deep and factual  as he added that Efeturi could not be considered because he was “time barred,” hence the decision to name Sani-Omolori to act as CNA and ensure continuity in the system.

The Chairman's explanation in his letter dated April 26 in reply to the Senate President's letter of April 21 left no one in doubt as to the sound judgment that informed the choice of Omolori. The letter read in part:

“In arriving at the Commission's decision, the Chairman did not use his casting vote, because eleven Commissioners were in support with only one who voted no.

“I wish to kindly invite your attention to the reason alleged in your letter to have been used to deny Mr. Benefit Efeturi from being appointed as the Acting Clerk being that he was not duly appointed as Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly.

“It is necessary to place on record the career progression of the two officers in the hierarchy of the National Assembly as follows:

“Deputy Director: Mr. Efeturi 1^st January 2004, Mr. Sani-Omolori 1^st January 2003. Director Mr. Efeturi 1^st January 2008; Sani-Omolori 1^st January 2007.

Acting Clerk Mr. Efeturi 4^th February 2010; Sani-Omolori 4^th February 2010. Substantive Clerk Mr. Efeturi 25^th March 2010; Mr. Sani-Omolori 25^th March 2010.

“It should be noted that in the Nigerian Public Service, seniority is determined at the time of consideration for promotion and career progression chart leading to it.

“Seniority has never and is never decided by the date of appointment to the service or date of retirement from service or indeed the number of years spent in the service.

“From that above analysis, denying Mr. Mohammed A. Sani-Omolori appointment as Deputy Clerk to the National Assembly in 2014 was improper being that he was senior to Mr. Benedict Efeturi.”

However, the desperadoes in the system will not allow matters to rest. They opened another warfront by causing seven Commissioners to announce in a letter dated April 26 that they were not part of the announcement of Omolori as Ag, CNA.

Having read the letter by the seven commissioners, which has since been denounced by the Commissioner for North East, Idi Ningi, which reduced the number of those in opposition to six out of 13, it is obvious that some forces are trying to play on our collective intelligence on this matter. The Commissioners claimed to have attended a meeting where Dr. Fika presented a memo on the issue of Omolori as Ag Clerk. They said that five of them kept quiet while only one person said yes and that the Chairman announced the matter was carried.

We all know that in the legislature, silence does not amount to 'No' and that where there are no 'Nays', the 'Ayes' automatically have it. Apart from that, why did it take the said commissioner six days to denounce a meeting they attended? The meeting held on April 20 but their letter was dated April 26. Why wait for six days for such an important development?

The relevant questions on this matter include; Is it true that Mr. Ben Efeturi is due to proceed on retirement 12 days before the final exit of the retiring Maikasuwa? What happens to stability in the system if Efeturi is announced in May only to go in less than three months? What would happen if he is announced as CNA and he has to retire in less than three months?

In my view, the sensible thing to do is for the NASC to preserve the system by ensuring continuity and addressing this matter once and for all by naming Omolori. After all, the announcement of Omolori does not amount to demotion for Efeturi in any way since he was already confirmed a Permanent Secretary by virtue of his position as DCNA.

If I one may ask, why the desperation to upturn the sensible decision made by the NASC?  Investigations have confirmed that there are classified and unclassified reasons behind the decision by the Commission. There are claims that some forces are opposed to the choice of Omolori because of the need to pay back their ally over the saga surrounding the alleged alterations of the Senate Rule Book 2015, which is already being investigated by the Police. One is aware that some forces are already silently working to ensure their preferred choice gets an extension of tenure if they succeed in putting him on the top seat.

It was also confirmed the NASC took the decision to announce Omolori as a way of starving off the NASS Bureaucracy from a calamity foretold. Those with insights into the workings of the Commission said that the Commissioners had reasoned that it would be calamitous for the Clerk to the National Assembly and the Senate President (Chairman of National Assembly) to be dragged into the dock simultaneously.

Already, we are all aware that Senate President Bukola Saraki is facing charges at the Code of Conduct Tribunal. Insiders in the NASC said that there are indications that a main contender to the CNA seat could also face trial over allegations of age falsification and alleged doctoring of the Rule Book. Should the Head of NASS Bureaucracy, as signified by the CNA go into the dock just as the Political Head of the Institution(The Senate President) is trying to wriggle out of Dock, certainly not a few Nigerians would mount the campaign train for the dissolution of the Legislature. God forbid this should happen, because only the legislature distinguishes democracy from autocratic rule.

Written by Audu Mohammed.