Impeachments: Refrain from Lawmakers’ Leadership Tussles, NILDS DG Cautions Assembly Clerks

Sunday Aborisade in Abuja

Director General of the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies (NILDS), Professor Abubakar Sulaiman, has cautioned clerks of the various state Houses of Assembly against involving themselves in the leadership tussles among the lawmakers.

He said being professional technocrats, their duty was to guide the legislators on how to follow the right procedures in whatever legislative actions they want to carry out.

The DG stated this yesterday during a two-day capacity-building workshop on leadership development and innovative management skills for the Forum of Clerk to State Houses of Assembly, chaired by Rukkaiya Adamu Jalo.

Sulaiman said clerks of legislative arms of government are crucial to the success and effectiveness of legislation in Nigeria.

He stressed the critical roles being played by the clerks to the success of legislations in the country, and said achieving good governance and constitutional mandates depends on the competence of legislative bureaucracy.

He said: “We’re in a turbulent period and whether we like it or not, our lawmakers are politicians of divergent political lineage.  They have national interests, no doubt about that.

“We bureaucrats, at both executive level, judiciary, and the legislature, we have a role to play. Most importantly, we clerks have a role to play. There are a lot of crises going on in so many states’ houses of assembly.

“We have a crisis in Lagos. We have a crisis in Rivers. We have crises in so many states of assembly.

“We have recorded cases of impeachments here and there. Politicians do politics. You must perform your work.

“As technocrats, as bureaucrats, we must ensure that procedures are being followed in everything we do. That is why when there’s any harm on a politician, it will not affect you.

“However, when you see it affecting a clerk, as we have it in Lagos State, then you must ask yourself the question, why? Have you compromised? Have you been fingered in any of these feuds?

“Or is it corruption? Or abnormalities that are obtained during that period. We must stand above partisanship. We must be law-abiding.

“We must do the needful. And the best way to be law-abiding and stand above partisanship and compromises is to always emphasize the training and retraining of our staff.

“I’m not unaware of the fact that some of your staff that are coming up in the various assemblies, they are product of politicians.”

He explained that the workshop was necessary to present, “an opportunity to strengthen our collective capacity to enhance legislative efficiency, institutional resilience, and democratic governance.”

He said: “You are the engine room of legislative activities through the coordinating role you play in your various assemblies.

“Your leadership, administrative competence, and strategic guidance are essential for the smooth functioning of legislative processes and the successful implementation of financial and administrative autonomy.

“Recognising this crucial role, NILDS being the capacity-building hub for legislatures at all levels of government, has designed this intensive two-day capacity-building workshop to equip Clerks with the knowledge, skills, and tools necessary for innovative and responsive leadership in legislative management.

“Our carefully selected resource persons, drawn from various fields of expertise, will offer valuable insights and practical strategies to address the complex challenges confronting legislative bureaucracies in Nigeria.”

The Chairperson, Forum of Clerk to State Houses of Assembly, Rukkaiya Adamu Jalo, commended the DG and the management of NILDS for organising the training for them.

She noted that it would help in no small measure to advance effectiveness of the legislature.