National Assembly has over 14,000 workers, most busy parliament in world — Clerk

The National Assembly has more than 14,000 employees, excluding the 469 federal lawmakers and the visitors who access the complex daily, Clerk to the National Assembly (CNA), Kamoru Ogunlana, has said.

Ogunlana spoke on Tuesday during the final phase of a capacity-building training programme for legislative aides in the 10th National Assembly.

He said the large workforce, coupled with the number of lawmakers and visitors, made the Nigerian parliament one of the busiest legislative complexes 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.

The clerk also disclosed that the Senate and the House of Representatives had passed a combined 3,500 bills since the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly.

According to him, the Senate passed 1,500 bills, while the House of Representatives passed 2,000 during the period.

Ogunlana said the volume of legislative business further demonstrated the need for an effective support system for lawmakers.

He also renewed his call for a special salary structure for legislative aides, describing them as essential to the effective functioning of the legislature.