Nigeria’s National Assembly is busiest parliament in the world with over 14,000 staff – Clerk

Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Kamoru Ogunlana, has said the federal parliament has more than 14,000 workers, excluding the 469 federal lawmakers and the visitors who access the complex daily making it the busiest in the world.

Speaking on Tuesday at the final phase of a capacity-building training programme for legislative aides in the 10th national assembly, Ogunlana said the size of the workforce, combined with the number of lawmakers and visitors, makes the Nigerian parliament the busiest in the world.

“No parliament in the world is as busy as the national assembly, which has over 14,000 personnel aside the federal legislators and their visitors, making the job of its clerk to be the most demanding in terms of administrative coordination,” he said.

Ogunlana said the two chambers of the 10th national assembly had passed 3,500 bills in the last three years.

He said the senate passed 1,500 bills, while the house of representatives passed 2,000.

The clerk said the volume of legislative activities underscored the need for an efficient support system for lawmakers.

Ogunlana also renewed his call for a special salary scale for legislative aides, describing them as a critical component of the legislative process.

He called on the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) and the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) to address issues surrounding their salaries and conditions of service.

“There is need to streamline the responsibility of the NASC and RMAFC in determining the salaries and conditions of service of legislative aides,” he said.

Ogunlana said the NASC is responsible for the appointment and administration of legislative aides, while their remuneration operates within a framework developed or approved by RMAFC and is subject to approval by the national assembly.

He noted that the appointment of legislative aides is temporary and non-pensionable, but questioned whether the positions should be regarded as full-time or part-time.

According to him, the reforms should improve the welfare of legislative aides and strengthen their capacity to support lawmakers.

“Whatever reform we undertake, the goal should remain the development of a professional legislative support service that attracts and retains the best and brightest minds, as well as individuals of exemplary character and moral probity,” Ogunlana said.