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N’Assembly key officials divided over choice of house clerk

By From Alifa Daniel, Abuja Bureau Chief
28 April 2016   |   2:22 am
Some commissioners of the National Assembly Service Commission held a meeting yesterday night to counter a letter by its Chairman, Adamu Fika, where he insisted that the Clerk of the House.....

 National Assembly

Some commissioners of the National Assembly Service Commission held a meeting yesterday night to counter a letter by its Chairman, Adamu Fika, where he insisted that the Clerk of the House of Representatives, Mohammed Sani Omolori, take over as acting clerk even though he is lower in rank to the substantive Deputy Clerk, Ben Efeturi, who is still in service.

The substantive Clerk of the National Assembly, Mr. Salisu Maikasuwa, is billed to proceed on terminal leave in 27 days, and the Assembly Service Commission gave a letter to Sani Omolori to act over and above the sitting deputy clerk.

Following a letter written by the Senate President as Chairman of the National Assembly opposing the move because due process was not followed, Fika sent another letter circulated to the press explaining why Sani Omolori was picked.

But yesterday, it was gathered that the some commissioners were in a meeting to counter what the chairman did, which they considered “absurd and out of tune” with government process and procedure.

A source in the commission also queried the latest letter by the chairman, which is alleged to endorse illegality.“That letter has the imprint of an interested party and investigations are on into who actually authored it as opposed to who signed it. The days of impunity are gone and we cannot imagine who could so turn logic on its head to say the commission is preferring a junior to a senior because the senior will retire soon,” one National Assembly Service Commission source said.

Following the disagreement between the National Assembly political leadership and the commission, a myriad of groups have been thrown up taking sides and pushing their agenda into the public domain, but last night, many were awaiting the result of the meeting of commissioners.
Last Friday, the Senate President ordered the commission to reverse the appointment of the acting clerk announced two days before.

In the letter captioned “Withdrawal of Letter of Appointment of Acting Clerk of N‎atonal Assembly,” Saraki’s directed the commission 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 on the outcome of the commission’s meeting before a letter of appointment is issued and regrettably, that did not happen,” the letter stated.

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