The National Coordinator of Concern Nigerian Youths, Akeem Muhammed has called on the Senate President, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki to obey the National Assembly Service Act of 2014 which stated categorically clear that “In Exercising its powers to make appointments or exercise disciplinary control over persons, The Commission Shall Not Be Subject To The Direction or Control of Any Authority or Person” by not interfering in the collective decision of the National Assembly Service Commission in the appointment of Mr. Sani Omolori as the Ag. Clerk of the National Assembly for the period that the incumbent Clerk to the National Assembly will be on pre-retirement leave from May 14th to August 14th, 2016.
In a press released made available to the media on Friday, 6th May, 2016 in Abuja, the group stated that the National Assembly Service Commission took into account the fact that Mr. Ben Efeturi will proceed on his pre-retirement leave on 2nd August 2016, twelve days before the incumbent Clerk will be due to hand over to his successor. This means that Mr. Efeturi is time barred for the appointment as Ag. Clerk of the National Assembly 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 eleven commissioners were in support with only one who voted "No,” Muhammed said.
“It could be recalled that the Senate President, Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki issued a letter instructing the Chairman of the National Assembly Service Commission to withdraw the letter appointing Mr. Sani Omolori as the Ag. Clerk of the National Assembly for the period that the incumbent Clerk to the National Assembly will be on pre-retirement leave from May 14th to August 14th 2016.
“In substantiating our strong position on this matter, it is necessary to place on record the career progression of the two officers in the inerrancy of the National Assembly.
“Mr. Sani Omolori was appointed Deputy Director on 1st of January, 2003 while Mr. Ben Efeturi was appointed Deputy Director on 1st January, 2004. Mr. Sani Omolori was appointed Director on 1st January 2007, and Mr. Ben Efeturi was appointed Director on January 1st, 2008. Mr. Sani Omolori and Mr. Ben Efeturi were both appointed Ag. Clerk on February 4th, 2010.
“Mr. Sani Omolori and Mr. Ben Efeturi were both appointed Substantive Clerks on 25th March 2010.
“For the records, in the Nigeria Public Services Seniority is determined at the time of consideration for promotion and career progression chart leading to it seniority has never and is never 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.
“After deep scrutiny of the laws establishing the National Assembly Service Commission before getting interested in this matter to necessitate our intervention, we discovered that Mr. Benedict Efeturi who presently act as the Deputy Clerk of the National Assembly will proceed on his three months terminal leave on 2nd August 2016, days before the end of the current Clerk’s terminal leave and that it is never expedient nor in conformity with Convention and practices of the service for an officer who has less than six months left to retire from the service to act in a higher office”. Muhammed said.
“Taken into consideration all the facts and figures on this unwarranted misguided decision of the Senate Presidents, the Concerned Nigeria Youthopine strongly that the Senate President acted in error to request for the withdrawal of the appointment letter of Mr. Sani Omolori in the first instance as no person or authority can influence the said appointment according to the rules and regulations of the commission.
The group called on Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki to concentrate all his energy and divert his intellectual endowments into wriggling himself out of his current political quagmire at the Code of Conduct Tribunal; an act that downgrade the image of the National Assembly, than to his more political pettiness, unnecessary distraction and retrogressive witch-hunting to deny Mr. Sani Omolori his rightful position because of political miscalculations that ought not to affect the bureaucracy of the National Assembly Service Commission.
“Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki is faced with heterogeneous problems that calls his personal integrity into serious questioning and while we hope the Senate President should do the needful by tackling the problems facing the nation to move forward and redeeming the image of the National Assembly, we feel dabbling into appointments that are only made by the National Assembly Service Commission; is an error and we call on Senator Abubakar Bukola Saraki to desist from meddling in the Commission’s affairs forthwith” Muhammed said.
“It is evidently clear without bureaucratic ambiguity that Mr. Sani Omolori, the present Clerk of the House of Representatives who therefore remains the next most senior officer in the services of National Assembly and who will remain in service till 2012 is the most qualified to act as the Clerk to National Assembly in Acting capacity effective from May 13th, 2016 for National peace and sustainable tranquility.