Amos Olatunde Ojo, the serving Clerk to the National Assembly would be bowing out of service by November 14th, 2022. It will be the end of an era indeed. Under his dispensation, the National Assembly recorded great feats, which would remain a credit to his years of service in his capacity as the CNA.
As the National Assembly prepares for the new era under a new Clerk, who does the cap fit to wear? Who becomes the new Clerk to the National Assembly after Ojo?
It is very important to underscore the critical nature of the office of the Clerk to the National Assembly. It is not a political office and would become an aberration to use political considerations and affiliations to anoint and place anyone in the office. The Clerk to the National Assembly is the non-political administrative head of the National Assembly.
The office of the clerk to the parliament is a universal office associated with democracy. The clerk, chief clerk, or secretary of a legislative chamber as it is called across democracies, is the senior administrative officer responsible for ensuring that legislative businesses run smoothly. This may encompass keeping custody of documents laid before the house, received, or produced; making records of proceedings; allocating office space; enrolling of members, and administering an oath of office. During the first sitting of a newly elected legislature, or when the current presiding officer steps down, a clerk may act as the presiding officer in the election of a new presiding officer such as the Speaker or President of the Senate. A clerk may also advise the President of the Senate, the speaker and members on parliamentary procedure, acting, in American parlance, as a “parliamentarian.”
The Clerk is at the service of the Legislative Assembly and all of its Members, regardless of party affiliation. All MLAs must be listened to, advised, and counselled with utter objectivity and confidentiality.
After either a general election or a by-election, the Clerk administers the Oath of Allegiance to every elected Member, including those who have been re-elected. They must swear the oath or make an affirmation and sign the parliamentary roll before taking their seats in the Assembly.
The Clerk is non-partisan and must have no bias for or against any political party. In the Westminster system, the clerk is usually an apolitical civil servant, and typically attains the position through promotion and retains it until retirement. In the United States, while clerks are usually nonpartisan, they are often elected from a pool of competent hands submitted to the parliament by the assembly members at the beginning of each term.
In Nigeria, however, the Clerk to the National Assembly is the administrative head of the National Assembly responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operations and affairs of the National Assembly. The Clerk is also the chief adviser to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives on procedural and legislative matters. The Clerk serves in a lot of capacities, which include manager of the Chamber and Procedural Advisor to the National Assembly; presides over a new Assembly and the elections of Senate President and the Speaker; serves as the accounting officer to the Assembly; serves as the administrator of the Assembly, inclusive of administrator of parliamentary funds, among other responsibilities.
The complexity and criticality of the job functions of the Clerk has remained the overriding factor that calls for the filling of the position with technocrats with the absolute know-how of legislative processes; and not transforming the office to a procession position that is occupied based on seniority or political connection.
The current names that have been filtering for the position do not tick the box of competence, coming from the perspective of professionalism and a reasonable knowledge of legislative procedures and processes. It would be a fundamental misplacement of priority to feed such a sensitive position with a surveyor or whatever for consideration with availability or seniority progression.
In the interest of a functional and administratively efficient and effective NA, it is advisable that the right man or woman with adequate capacity for the job and with the training background and time tested experience be sought out for appointment as the next Clerk to the National Assembly.
We are at a crossroads where the country needs quality and effective legislation as part of its aspirations for changes; we are at the crossroads where the lines must be drawn between politics and real development. We cannot afford to continue to play politics with sensitive and critical responsibilities of state and unit administration.
The National Assembly is not short of needed competence for the position. Within and without the chambers, there are Nigerians with the needed proficiency to occupy the office. I would advise that rather than bending to political push or subjecting the appointment to a succession replacement, the leadership of the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) should set up a committee to seek out a capable, competent personality, with the know-how for the job.
Such prospects are to be considered by assessing their professional and career antecedents, including their capacity to innovate and solve complex administrative problems. The most suitable candidate should also be one who demonstrates and prioritises research, technology and collaboration as indispensable tools to make the office of the CNA more effective and productive. I have no doubt whatsoever that there is someone within the National Assembly system that fits the bill.
In an increasingly technology-driven world, these suggested considerations herein are not overboard but would rather strengthen the selection process, which8 no doubt will be a positive to our nascent democracy.
Mr Abubakar writes from Abuja
