The newly appointed Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Kamorudeen Ogunlana, has taken over as head of the apex legislature’s bureaucracy.
This followed the formal handover from the former Clerk, Sani Magaji Tambuwal, to his successor, Ogunlana, at the National Assembly complex in Abuja over the weekend.
In his brief remarks, Tambuwal expressed gratitude to those who supported him in office and throughout his career, where he has attained its zenith.
The immediate past chief National Assembly bureaucrat said, “I formally hand over this document to the National Assembly to Kamorudeen Ogunlana.”
In his response, the new CNA Ogunlana, who eulogised his predecessor, also applauded his courage and leadership qualities while at the helm of the Assembly’s affairs.
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 about completing it; you finish it with your reputation intact.
“The office of the Clerk to the National Assembly is one of the few offices the Commission created. You may see some Chief Executives and Perm Secretaries. The Clerk to the National Assembly is one of the few offices that the Commission created.
“Within the National Assembly Service, apart from the Public Complaint Commission, only the Clerk to the National Assembly 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 evolving.
“Today, when I look at the Clerk, I see the equivalent of Head of Service. Some of you may feel the Clerk is equivalent to Perm Sec, but no, we’ve moved beyond that.
It doesn’t end there; we are talking of somebody who manages over 4,000 staff within this confined space and operates over 7,000 Legislative Assistants, not to mention the VIPs—the lawmakers.
“Within this space, we have the number three and four Citizens. Within this space. Do you know what it means for the president of this country to come to your domain? Would you happen to 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.”
