One of the most engaging controversies at the National Assembly this week was the debate over the right choice for the office of the Clerk of the National Assembly. Assistant Editor, Onyedi Ojiabor, reports
Perhaps the last has not been heard about the controversy trailing the appointment of Clerk to the National Assembly.
The unfolding drama of exchange of letters between the office of the Senate President and the National Assembly Service Commission, has been aptly dubbed “another failed attempt in the National Assembly.”
This time, the appointment of Acting Clerk to the National Assembly became an issue. Letters have been flying around to the dismay of many watchers of the national parliament. Nothing seemed to be settled; not even the procedure for appointments in the hallowed institution of the National Assembly. No doubt, controversy seemed to have become the second name of the highest lawmaking body of the country.
At the center of the controversy are Senate President Saraki, Executive Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission, Dr. Adamu Fika, Clerk to the House of Representatives, Mr. Mohammed Sani-Omolori and Deputy Clerk to the National Assembly, Mr. Benedict Efeturi. Twelve commissioners of the commission have also been drawn into the dirty fight for position.
On Wednesday April 20th, 2016 Sani-Omolori was appointed Clerk to the National Assembly by the Executive Chairman, Dr. Fika. Sani-Omolori was appointed to replace Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa scheduled to proceed on terminal leave beginning from August 14the, 2026.
Before Sani-Omolori could celebrate his appointment, a counter latter emerged.
Two days after the appointment, precisely on Friday 22nd April 2016, Senate President wrote to the Commission’s Chairman directing him to withdraw the letter of appointment issued Sani-Omolori and to appoint Efeturi instead.
Dr, Saraki in his letter entitled “Withdrawal of letter of appointment of Acting Clerk of the National Assembly” and signed by the Chief of Staff to the Senate President, Senator Isa Galaudu, claimed the due process was not followed in the appointment of Sani-Omolori.
Saraki said that the Commission ignored the directive that it should follow due process and ensure that seniority was adhered to in the appointment of a new clerk to the National Assembly.
The letter read in part, “We present to you the compliments of the President of the Senate and Chairman of the National Assembly, Distinguished Senator (Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, CON. Please recall that during your last meeting with the President of the Senate on April 20, 2016, the procedure of the appointment of the Acting Clerk of the National Assembly was discussed.
“The Commission was directed to follow due process and ensure that seniority is adhered to. Of course, Mr. Benedict Efeturi who is Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly (DCNA) and who has previously acted as the Clerk of the National Assembly should be the first to be considered.
“Most importantly, you have been directed to confer with the President of the Senate the outcome of the Commission’s meeting before a letter of appointment is issued and regrettably that did not happen.
“The President of the Senate and Speaker of the House of Representatives were informed that Mr. Efeturi was not considered for the appointment because he was not duly appointed as Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly. On further enquiries, we found he was duly appointed by the National Assembly Service Commission.
“Consequently, I am directed by His Excellency, the President of the Senate, to inform you that the letter appointing Mr. Sani Omolori as Acting Clerk of the National Assembly be withdrawn immediately for further consultations.” Saraki’s letter and its publication set tongues wagging as to the propriety of the process adopted for the letter.
The Executive Chairman of the Commission, Dr. Fika fired back on April 26, 2016 accusing the Senate President of being ill-informed in the matter of the appointment of Omolori.
The Executive Chairman told the Senate President in clear terms that his directive that Sani-Omolori’s appointment as Acting Clerk to the National Assembly should be reversed is not tenable.
Dr. Fika said, “Re: Appointment of acting Clerk to the National Assembly” read in part “I wish to refer to your letter on the above subject matter issued on your behalf by your Chief of Staff, Senator Isa Galaudu instructing the Executive Chairman, National Assembly Service Commission to withdraw the letter appointing Mr. Mohammed A. Sani-Omolori as the Acting Clerk of the National Assembly for the period the incumbent Clerk to the National Assembly will be on pre-retirement leave from the 14th May to 14th August 2016.
“The above decision was taken at the Commission’s 440th meeting held on the 20th day of April 2016. The Commission took into account the fact that Mr. Benedict Efeturi will himself proceed on his pre-retirement leave on 2nd August 2016, twelve days before the incumbent Clerk will be due to hand over to his successor.
“This means that Mr. Efeturi is time barred for the Acting appointment; hence the choice of Mr. Sani-Omolori to act and ensure continuity in the very important public service office where he will serve for the next five years.
“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 1st January 2004, Mr. Sani-Omolori 1st January 2003. Director Mr. Efeturi 1st January 2008; Sani-Omolori 1st January 2007.
Acting Clerk Mr. Efeturi 4th February 2010; Sani-Omolori 4th February 2010. Substantive Clerk Mr. Efeturi 25th March 2010; Mr. Sani-Omolori 25th 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 nor 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.
“With the above explanations, the issue of misleading and misinforming your good self and Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives does not arise as the Commission properly evaluated the two officers and took into consideration their service records as a determining fact for the appointment of Acting Clerk to the National Assembly.
“In the light of the foregoing, Your Excellency will agree that reversing the decision of the Commission appointing Mr. Mohammed A. Sani-Omolori as the Acting Clerk to the National Assembly cannot be tenable in this circumstance.”
If you thought that Dr. Fika’s measured response to Saraki’s directive had put the matter to rest, you may have to think again.
A new dimension was added to the whole drama on Thursday when seven out of 12 commissioners of the Commission disowned Dr. Fika accusing of appointing Sani-Omolori unilaterally against a collective position of the Commission.
The NASC Commissioners did not only stop at accusing Fike of acting unilaterally in the appointment, they passed a vote of no confidence on him.
The commissioners including Abubakar Rufai (North West), Idi Ningi(North East), Joseph Oru (South South), Paul Oweh (South South), Stephen Yepwi (North Central), Funmi Lamuye (South West) and Abel Chukwu (South-East).
The commissioners explained that at an emergency meeting convened by Fika for the appointment of Clerk “five commissioners vehemently opposed the appointment of Sani-Omolori; five commissioners made no comment, while only one commissioner endorsed the appointment and one abstained.”
The commissioners flatly rejected Omolori’s appointment as Acting Clerk to the National Assembly.
The letter read: “The Chairman National Assembly Service Commission would please recall that you convened an emergency meeting of the commission on Wednesday 20th April 2016, where you presented a memo for appointment of an acting clerk of the National Assembly. At the meeting, though there were divergent views as follows: five (5) commissioners vehemently opposed the memo, five (5) commissioners made no comment, while only one (1) endorsed the memo, strangely you ruled that the memo carried and that Mr. Sani-Omolori is appointed as the Acting Clerk of national assembly.
“You went ahead and issued a letter of appointment to Mr. Sani-Omolori right after the meeting, against the commission’s norm of adopting the minutes of the meeting at another meeting before carrying out decisions taken.
“The above actions of yours have attracted undue negative publicity to the commission and greatly depleted our integrity.
“Also recall sir, that in November 2014 you unilaterally issued a letter of appointment to the same Sani Omolri as Deputy Clerk of National Assembly until the members wrote to the Senate President disassociating themselves from your action: eleven (11) commissioners out of twelve signed that letter. The commission then met and voted overwhelmingly in favour of the appointment of Mr. Ben Efeturi who was the regarded as the most suitable candidate.
“By that appointment, the issue of seniority between Efeturi and Sani Omolori has been laid to rest. We make bold to say that any letter emanating from you (Dr. Adamu Fika) at this time is an individual effort on your part without the consent of the commission and has not followed due process.
“We the under signed commissioners disassociate ourselves from your letter appointing Mohammed Sani-Omolori as the Acting Clerk of the National Assembly and affirm that Ben Efeturi is the rightful person to assume that office based on seniority. Although you are chairman of the Commission, you are not the commission.
“For the above reasons, we cease to have confidence in your leadership and chairmanship of the commission.” It is not clear how the tussle will end.
One of the insiders said, “Even if all the Commissioners are now against their earlier decision, especially when it was reported that only one of them disagreed and opposed the appointment of Sani-Omolori at their meeting, their honourable path is to go back to the forum to reverse themselves. Anything short of that remains a nullity.
Who laughs last, Sani-Omolori or Efeturi? Time will tell. While Nigerians await anxiously for the myriads of man-made issues confronting the National Assembly, the country is only worse for it.