NASC acts on Senate President’s fresh directive, orders outgoing CNA to formally hand over to acting CNA on December 5

The confusion that has characterised the leadership succession in the management wing of the National Assembly has been cleared.

Clarity and peace have now beckoned as the Senate President, Dr Ahmad Lawan, has directed the leadership of the National Assembly Service Commission, NASC, to do the needful by asking the outgoing Clerk to the National Assembly, CNA, Architect Amos Olatunde Ojo, to hand over to the acting CNA, Magaji Sani Tambuwal.

THE CONCLAVE reports that the NASC, acting on the directive of the Senate President, who is the Chairman of the National Assembly, has ordered the outgoing CNA to hand over to the acting CNA without fail on Monday, December 5, 2022.

The outgoing CNA will not occupy the office of CNA during the period of his three-month pre-retirement leave that would culminate in his effective retirement from service on February 14, 2023.

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The decision, which has excited the National Assembly bureaucracy, was reached at an emergency meeting of NASC on Friday, December 2, 2022, in Abuja.

The NASC reportedly launched into the last-ditch meeting to save itself from the unnecessary embarrassment and to mitigate the damage so far caused to its reputation as an institution that does not follow its rules or regulations.

THE CONCLAVE reports that at a caucus meeting of principal officers of the national assembly, during the week, the Senate President was quoted by a source to have said that he was misled and misinformed into allowing Architect Ojo to remain in office to tutor the Acting CNA on the workings of the Office.

Recall that the NASC had acted on a letter by the Senate President to recall the outgoing CNA because of the exigencies of the time.

The Senate President had adverted attention to the imperative of having a substantive CNA in place to authenticate the clean copy of 2023 Appropriation Bill that would be transmitted to President Muhammadu Buhari for his assent.

But the Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria, PASAN, had written a letter to the NASC countering the position of the Senate President that bills could not be authenticated by acting CNA.

The Union said the acting CNA occupying the office of the CNA exercises the powers of the Office of the CNA and therefore could authenticate bills as required by the Authentication Act.

Consequent upon the extensive deliberations of issues involved in the succession impasse at the caucus meeting, the Senate President, as learnt, directed the NASC to act in accordance with the resolution and urgently too to de-escalate tension in the NASS bureaucracy.

Recall that Architect Ojo had earlier declined the commission’s summons and entreaties, via calls and correspondences to attend a series of meetings on resolving the impasse.

He was said to have reluctantly attended Friday’s meeting where he was ordered to hand over to the acting CNA and concentrate on the processes of his February 14, 2023 retirement.

In attendance at the meeting were the Acting CNA and the complement of the commission’s full leadership and membership.

THE CONCLAVE further reports that at the Friday meeting, Architect Ojo was asked to immediately proceed on his pre-retirement leave and hand over the reins of power to the Acting CNA, effective December 5, 2022.