Chairman of National Assembly Service Commission (NASC), Dr. Adamu Fika, yesterday told Senate President Bukola Saraki and Speaker Yakubu Dogara that the appointment of Alhaji Mohammed Sani-Omolori as the acting Clerk of National Assembly (CNA) cannot be reversed.
Saraki had, in a letter dated April 21, requested the NASC to rescind the appointment of Sani- Omolori to give room for further consultation, alleging that he and Dogara were misled by the commission in making the appointment.
But Fika, in a letter dated April 26, with Ref. No. NASC/CHO/PS/II/ II/28, sent to Saraki titled: “Re: Appointment of Acting Clerk of the National Assembly,” faulted the promotion of Saraki’s preferred candidate (Benedict Efeturi) to the position of the deputy CNA. Fika, in the letter obtained by New Telegraph, disclosed that the appointment of Efeturi as the Deputy Clerk of National Assembly in 2014 was “improper” and conflict with the best practice in the Nigerian Public Service.
He explained that “The Commission took into account the fact that Mr. Benedict Efeturi will, himself, proceed on his preretirement leave on 2nd August 2016, 12 days before the incumbent Clerk will be due to handover to his successor.
“This means that Mr. Efeturi is time barred to hand over the acting appointment. Hence, the choice of Mr. Sani-Omolori to act and ensure continuity in that very important public service office where he will serve for the next five years. In arriving at the commission’s decision, the chairman did not use his casting vote, because 11 commissioners were in support with only one who voted no.
“I wish to kindly invite your attention to the reason alleged in your letter to have been used to deny Mr. Benedict Efeturi from being appointed as the Acting Clerk that he was not duly appointed as Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly.
It is necessary to place on record the career progression of the two officers in the hierarchy of the National Assembly as follows: “According to the letter, Sani-Omolori was appointed to the post of Deputy Director on the 1st January 2003; Director on 1st January 2007; acting Clerk on 4th February 2010 and substantive clerk on the 25th April 2010.
“On his part, Efeturi was elevated to Deputy Director on the 1st of January 2004; Director on 1st January 2008; acting Clerk on 4th February 2010 and substantive clerk on the 25th April 2010.
“It should be noted that in the Nigerian public service, seniority is determined at the time of consideration for promotion and career progression chart leading to it. Seniority has never and is neither decided by the date of appointment to the service nor date of retirement from service or indeed the number of years spent in the service. “From the above analysis, denying Mr. Mohammed A. Sani-Omolori appointment as Deputy Clerk to the National Assembly in 2014 was improper being that he was senior to Mr. Benedict Efeturi.
With the above explanations, the issue of misleading your good self and the Honourable Speaker of the House of Representatives does not arise as the commission properly evaluated the two officers and took into account their service records as a determining factor for the appointment of Acting Clerk to the National Assembly.
“In light of all the foregoing, Your Excellency will agree that reversing the decision of the commission appointing Mr. Mohammed Sani-Omolori as the Acting Clerk to the National Assembly cannot be tenable in the circumstances,” Fika stated in the two-page letter to Saraki. Sources in the National Assembly noted that Eferuri’s accelerated promotion was facilitated by the leadership of the Senate.
