Controversy trails appointment of new clerk

The appointment of the new secretary is behind the debate National Assembly (CNA).

The National Service Commission (NASC) on Friday announced that Magaji Tambuwal was the new federal legislative secretary.

Mr. Tambuwal, who will be acting pending his confirmation, replaces former CNA, Olatunde Ojo, who was asked to continue with the required three-month pre-retirement leave – ahead of his retirement date in February 2023.

Until his appointment, the new Acting Secretary was the Secretary of the Finance and Accounts Department of the National Assembly.

However, the appointment of Mr. Tambuwal, who hails from Sokoto State, has sparked controversy as the NASC allegedly violated its own Act by bypassing other officials who are “next in line” to be appointed as civil servants.

The NASC allegedly “bypassed” the next level, Chinedu Akabueze, the Senate Secretary and three others, to appoint Mr. Tambuwal in violation of Section 6 of the Act establishing the Commission.

In section 6, paragraph 1.b) of the law, the line of appointment hierarchy is indicated as follows: Secretary of the National Assembly, Deputy Secretary of the National Assembly, Secretary of the Senate, Secretary of the House of Representatives, Deputy Secretary. The deputy secretary of the Senate, the Chamber and the secretaries of the board and then the holders of other positions.

Mr. Akabueze became Mr. Ojo’s next chief lawmaker after the retirement of Deputy Secretary to the National Assembly (DCNA), Bala Yabani.

Also, paragraph 5 of Article 14 of the Law stipulates: “Seniority, similar experience, ability or federal character will be taken into account.”

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Controversy

In a letter announcing Mr Tambuwal’s appointment, NASC President Ahmed Amshi said it was done in recognition of his hard work and administrative ability. He also said it is in line with Section 6(b) of the NASC Act.

However, a secretary of the Senate committee who did not want to be named because he is not authorized to speak on the matter told PREMIUM TIMES that the controversy started before Mr. Tambuwal’s appointment was announced.

Many officials reportedly shot down the plan when they learned he was being considered for the position. Mr. Akabueze is the next legislator, while Tambuwal is an administrative officer.

He also said that some workers blame the outgoing secretary and advised Mr. Tambuwal to take over. He said that they will present a request to the Commission and the National Assembly.

However, a legislative aide in the Senate President’s office, who did not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak on the matter, said the appointment was made based on the recommendation of a committee set up to look into it. eligible candidates

According to him, the eligible officials were considered based on their career progress and Mr. Tambuwal was found worthy of taking over.

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But in a list of Commission staff seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the ranking listed three other officials ahead of Mr. Tambuwal, apart from Mr. Akabueze. They are Henrietta Aimua-Ehikioya, Saraju Oladoyin and Rahmatu Ahmed, all of whom are also board secretaries.

When contacted, Mr. Amshi said that the Commission will speak on the matter only when it receives a request or complaint.

“Once the application is formally submitted to the Commission through the appropriate channel, we will examine it and give a response to the applicant before the press statements,” he said in a text message sent to PREMIUM TIMES.

Mr. Ojo could not be reached for comment.

Other appointments

Other appointments made by the committee include: reinstatement of Ms. Aimua-Ehikioya now as Legal Services Secretary; Birma Shuaibu, Acting Secretary of the Human Resources Directorate; Umoru Ali, Acting Secretary for Research and Information; and Omogbehin Yomi, Acting Secretary, Special Duties.

The other appointees are Inyang Titus, Acting Finance and Accounts Secretary; and Nwoba Andrew, Acting Secretary for Planning and Legislative Budget”.

The commission said the appointments are based on the need to fill vacancies in the National Assembly Executive team. It also resolved that the outgoing secretary will continue to work with Mr. Tambuwal until his retirement in February.

This, the Commission said, is to ensure the successful processing of the 2023 Appropriation Act procedure, which should only be transmitted by the substantive CNA under the provisions of the Authentication Act.