N’Assembly Clerk, 30 Officials Set To Retire As Tinubu Denies Service Extension

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria

In a significant shift for Nigeria’s parliamentary service, the Clerk of the National Assembly, Magaji Tambawal, and 30 senior officials are set to retire following President Bola Tinubu’s decision to decline a service extension bill.

Tambawal officially began his pre-retirement leave on November 1, 2024, and handed over to Deputy Clerk Kamouroudeen Ogundele.

Though his official retirement date is in February 2025, Tambawal will no longer carry out duties until then.

Tambawal, initially appointed acting Clerk in November 2022 and confirmed in March 2023, is one of many senior staff preparing to exit amid a wave of retirements that includes the Clerk of the Senate, Chinedu Akabueze, Deputy Clerks of both the Senate and House of Representatives, along with 11 directors, six deputy directors, and various officials from the National Assembly Service Commission.

The retirements follow Tinubu’s rejection of a bill proposing to raise the retirement age to 65 or 40 years of service, instead of the current threshold of 60 years or 35 years of service.

The legislation, initially introduced in the 7th Assembly, has repeatedly failed to gain approval, despite passing in both chambers of the 10th Assembly.

The bill, sponsored by Deputy Minority Leader Aliyu Madaki, gained traction in 2023 but ultimately failed to secure the President’s assent.

The decision not to extend the retirement age has triggered a considerable turnover in staff, with several more officials expected to retire by the end of 2024, and an additional 20 to 30 slated to leave in early 2025.

This mass exodus has raised concerns about the loss of “legislative memory,” as many of those retiring have extensive experience dating back to the early 1990s when the National Assembly was re-established.

A senior official highlighted the challenge of preserving institutional knowledge, saying, “The number of people retiring this year and next is significant.

There’s a risk that, with so many experienced staffers leaving, it could impact the efficiency and historical knowledge within the Assembly.”

Another source clarified that, contrary to some estimates, the number of retirees between January and December 2024 is closer to 46, not the 80 initially speculated.