…commend his predecessor’s leadership, integrity
…pledge to foster inclusivity, teamwork within NASS
By Gloria Ikibah
Barrister Kamorudeen Ogunlana has officially taken over as the Ninth Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA) since 1993.
The handover ceremony took place on Saturday evening at the National Assembly complex, Abuja, with management staff and dignitaries in attendance.
During the event, the outgoing CNA, Sani Magaji Tambuwal, expressed gratitude and formally transferred authority, and stated: “I formally hand over this document on the National Assembly to Kamorudeen Ogunlana.”
In his acceptance speech, Barrister Ogunlana praised his predecessor’s leadership and integrity, and emphasised the significance of the office of the CNA.
He said: “Today is historic. I want to start by congratulating the CNA. It is an achievement for you to start a journey and complete it. It is not just to complete it, you completed it with your reputation intact.
“The office of the Clerk to the National Assembly is one of the few offices that the Commission actually created. You may see some Chief Executives, Perm Secs, no, no, no. The Clerk to the National Assembly is one of the few offices that the Commission actually created.
“Within the National Assembly Service, apart from the Public Complaint Commission, it’s only the Clerk to the National Assembly that is mentioned. Now that position is not just cosmetic, we all know the role of the Clerk to the National Assembly, and that role is actually evolving.”
Ogunlana likened the Clerk’s responsibilities to those of a Head of Service, managing thousands of staff, legislative aides, and high-ranking officials.
“Today, when I look at the Clerk, I see the equivalent of Head of Service. Some of you feel maybe the Clerk is an equivalent of Perm Sec, no, we’ve moved beyond that.
“It doesn’t just end there, we are talking of somebody that is managing over 4,000 staff within this confined space. We are talking about a person that manages over 7,000 Legislative Aides, then not to talk of the VIPs – the lawmakers.
“Within this space, we have the number 3 and the number 4 Citizens. Within this space.
“Do you know what it means for the President of this country to come to your domain? Do you know what it takes to host the President? Anytime they say the President is coming, for us, it’s like a one-month affair, we don’t sleep! But this man was able to navigate those terrains successfully”.
He commended Tambuwal for mentoring his successor, asserting that, “No matter how good you are, if you don’t groom your successor, you are a failure in the area. This man actually groomed his successor.
“Now, I’ve heard people talking about successor, successor, this man has actually passed the first test of leadership. Why do I say that he has passed the first test of leadership? Leadership is very challenging, it’s not enough for you to have intellect, how you comport yourself matters. Not to even talk of commanding your followers. But I’ve watched him thoroughly, I saw that.
“I’ve already read out his legacy, so, when it comes to legacy, even generations of his children, when they come here, there are things that they will point to: it was under my father’s regime that this was done. So, you have actually left an enduring legacy, sir.”
Reflecting on Tambuwal’s achievements, Ogunlana highlighted financial strides made under his leadership
“Just yesterday or two days ago, I was compelled to highlight his achievements. I’ve listened to you, two things, even though you did not exhaust them, but let me just mention two things that you have left out consistently because I clerked the Committee on Judiciary in the House of Reps. When I was there, I took them from an annual budgetary allocation of less than one billion to about 100 billion.
“Consistently, because the judiciary and the parliament enjoy what they call first-line charge, so most times there’s this coincidence between the two. I don’t know whether it’s deliberate, but whatever they give the judiciary, that’s what they give the National Assembly. So, we were like that up to 130 billion for each.
“But there’s something about this man that people do not know. So I need to bring that up because I was with the Appropriation Chairmen and they mentioned it. They say it’s because of this man that they have to now increase the benchmark to 344”, he added.
Outlining his vision, Ogunlana pledged to foster inclusivity and teamwork within the National Assembly.
“I intend to democratize decision-making. There is no way I will sit down here because I don’t know it all. I have the legal and the legislative background, but I can’t claim to be an expert when it comes to financial issues, and that is where he comes in. I’m very happy that even though he’s leaving, he’s not really leaving”, he stated.
