By Deji Elumoye
The Acting Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Olatunde Amos Ojo, has pledged to run a transparent and accountable bureaucracy aimed at improving the staff welfare and the environment of the nation’s apex legislative body.
Ojo, who took over from Mohammed Sani-Omolori last month, unfolded his plan to revamp, re-engineer and rejuvenate the National Assembly and its bureaucracy while playing host to the leadership of his professional body, Association of Nigerian Chartered Architects (ANCA).
The CNA, in his first official assignment after assuming duties, pledged to enthrone accountability, transparency and discipline in the affairs of the National Assembly’s bureaucracy.
He said: “You know that integrity matters even in the practice of architecture and here also that is what I focus on to make sure that I don’t let you (ANCA) down and the entire nation.
“Also when we look at any built environment, of course, we operate in built environments and anywhere architects are found, they make sure they improve the environment. We don’t leave it the way we met it but we make sure that we improve on it. In the same way that is what my mind thinks and the mind of this administration as well.
Ojo promised to make the federal parliament the envy of the international parliament.
His words: “We will look at our environment and make it a place of international reckoning so that anybody who comes to Nigeria and wants to see our parliamentary environment, when they come here, they will know that this place is being managed by somebody who has architectural knowledge and comes from a good environment as well.
“Therefore, just as we do in practice, architects are transparent in practice, we have other professionals working with us, whatever it is, we carry them along. The same thing is what I want to do during my tenure. I want all my colleagues to be carried along.
He also stressed the importance of transparency to his leadership of the National Assembly management as well as regular training and retraining of the federal parliamentary workers.
“Transparency is part of it. Career wise, even in practice, we want to make sure that we train and retrain staff as a result of this, ARCON (Architects Registration Council of Nigeria) will organise one programme or the other. This is how we improve our name.
“We have to make sure that during our tenure, we have to improve on the wellbeing of our staff. I want to make sure that my staff, the entire community, are trained and retrained so that they don’t remain just the way they are or be stale in any manner. So whether we like it or not, we are still doing what we used to do and what we are still doing in practice, that is what we also do here.
“On the agitation for staff welfare, I want to align myself with the generality of the staff that at this time we want to see as much as possible that we give proper attention to such agitation concerning welfare and training to make sure that we give everybody the sense of belonging through training, retraining and general welfare.
“We will also ensure that strict discipline is maintained among the staff because to whom much is given definitely much is expected.”
The CNA thanked the ANCA leadership for the visit saying the association will act as a mediating influence in his action in office.
He said: “I appreciate you for this visit and it is good to know that when I look at my left and my right and my back and my side, that some eyes are still watching which is a control operation. So you have done very greatly and I want to assure you that by the grace of God in whatever we do I will not let you down.”
Speaking earlier, the leader of the ANCA delegation, Arc. Muktar Muhammed Mai, said the visit by the body was meant to congratulate Ojo on his recent appointment.
