Senate President, Godswill Akpabio has expressed serious concerns about the inability of the Senate Clerk, Mr Andrew Nwoba, to interface with him and provide necessary guidance during senate sittings in plenary.
Consequent upon the no-confidence vote in Nwoba, Akpabio directed that the Senate Clerk should go for a month-long intensive training to build sufficient capacity and know-how on the workings of legislature.
Embattled Nwoba, according to a grapevine, rounded off the training on Thursday, April 10, 2025.
However, Nwoba, as learnt, is seeking the support and solidarity of leaders of the Southeast zone to retain his position as he is set to resume at his desk, when the Senate reconven from it’s Sallah and Easter breaks.
A source close to the development said Nwoba was afraid the Senate President could direct his redeployment from the position of Senate Clerk by the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC).
Prior to the decision by the Senate President to direct Nwoba to go for a month’s intensive training (refresher course), sundry sources in the Senate had confirmed that the Clerk Senate had failed to show requisite capacity and know-how in guiding the Senate President and the Senate during sittings.
A staff member, who pleaded anonymity, described Nwoba as the worst clerk ever in the history of the Nigerian Senate.
Leveraging institutional memory, he recalled how a former Senate Clerk, the late Emmanuel Ozubele always provided guidance and clarifications to the Senate under the Presidency of the late Chuba Okadigbo and Anyim Pius Anyim until he retired in 2002.
He also cited the expertise of the late Mr Ben Efeturi who was appointed Clerk Senate in 2008. He said that Efeturi brilliantly guided the Presidency of Adolphus Wabara, Ken Nnamani, David Mark and Bukola Saraki through the Standing Rules of the Senate.
Akpabio’s complaints about Nwoba stemmed from a series of sheer lack of knowledge of the Standing Rules and his inability to provide guidance and clarifications when needed during proceedings in plenary.
The Senate President was so unhappy that he openly remarked during one of the Senate sittings that Nwoba should go on a training, a development, which staff members saw as vote of no confidence in Nwoba.
Aside from his inability to guide the Senate, staff members have accused him of nepotism. It was alleged that he came into office with a mindset of vendetta and victimisation.
It was learnt that shortly after he assumed office, he immediately moved three of his people to key committees against the norm. Staff members viewed the action as unfair and promoting nepotism.
As it is, the Clerk of Senate, as gathered, is reaching out to key and prominent Igbo figures, political and economic and even religious leaders, to help him prevail on the President of the Senate to receive him back and retain his position as Clerk of Senate, upon his return from the one-month training.
A source said that the Clerk of Senate was worried about a perceived move to redeploy him out of the Senate as soon as the National Assembly Service Commission (NASC) is inaugurated.
According to the source, “Unless the Senate President is convinced that Nwoba has shown sufficient capacity, this will be one of the first agenda issues of the commission: redeploy the Clerk to stop further embarrassment of the Senate.”
