Sani Magaji Tambuwal
His bespectacled, scholarly mien could fit him easily into NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, JPL, A-Team, questing to understand man’s place in the universe. But significantly, he manages a far larger laboratory, the structure which underpins and moderates the legislative- socio-political processes of Africa’s largest democracy – the National Assembly.
His unassuming hobbies – reading and playing tennis – perhaps more effectively help to conceal the inner steel that has enabled Sani Magaji Tambuwal, Clerk to the National Assembly, CNA, rise unerringly to the top of his immediate professional trajectory.
Sani Magaji Tambuwal who stepped in as the acting CNA, barely a year ago was appointed the substantive CNA on Wednesday, March 29, 2023 by the National Assembly Service Commission, NASC. He is the chief administrative and accounting officer, providing both administrative and legislative savoir faire to all esteemed members of the federal parliament. Cut to the bone, the CNA is the chief bureaucrat in Nigeria’s highest legislative body.
In democracies the world over, the legislature is the first and foremost arm of government. The primary function of government (law-making) is vested in the parliament which is also the assembly of elected representatives of the people that represent national public opinion and power of the people.
Tambuwal’s disciplined humanistic leaning makes him prioritise staff welfare and wellbeing as key anchors of ensuring productivity in the workspace. Not surprisingly, this aligns with his basic belief in in justice, fairness and equity for all and sundry.
It is then hardly surprising that the ambience of NASS today is that of peace, calmness and quietude because of the kind of confidence the CNA has restored in the staff members especially as it relates to their wellbeing. Salary and other legitimate benefits are being paid timeously.
These traits have enabled him to positively impact every directorate, department and division of the National Assembly. His mathematician’s background arguably has helped his adroit management of the fluid algorithms of Africa’s largest national parliament.
As a vastly experienced budget officer, he has been making the right calls in that space – appropriating funds and resources correctly and rightly to consummate management decisions. Also, accurately recognizing the critical worth of staff training, aggressive training and retraining of both senior and junior staff members have occupied an integral part of his focus. Some NASS staff members have just concluded security training and orientation in at the DSS training institute at Bwari, Abuja, with the aim of boosting security within and around the complex.
Tambuwal has also ensured a harmonious relationship between PASAN and NASS management. This is unprecedented and has birthed a refreshing and remarkable understanding. This leaning is mirrored in the constant consultation and dialogue with PASAN before major decisions and actions are taken.
The political leadership of the National Assembly is of course not left out in the combined effort with the Sani Magaji’s style of leadership. An open and candid interface leading to needful deliberations towards fostering a mutually beneficial co-existence between his office and the NASS leadership is key.
His astute financial guidance and advice have brought some level of trust and confidence in the administration of NASS. Health, an often-overlooked area, is of central concern to the CNA. The National Assembly clinic under his watch has improved tremendously with the availability of drugs and other critical medicare. Hardly satisfied with the average, he is striving to upgrade the state of the clinic with plans underway to make it a classic centre with state-of-the art facilities that can deal with medical issues with even lesser stress.
With the current challenges gripping the country, Tambuwal has made efforts by providing buses for staff to help ameliorate transportation woes. Being a core budget officer, he is also looking at possible means and ways to pay the palliative being introduced by the federal government to cushion the suffering of workers.
Remarkably, his acute environmental consciousness has pushed him towards beautification of the National Assembly and its environs.
Looking at the big picture, so far, Tambuwal has demonstrated capacity and sagacity in his repositioning of the National Assembly as a parliament of pride for its people.
There is an obvious linkage to his successes with his simple, gentle and accessible nature which endears him to the hearts of many. His surprising humility in consulting with his predecessors for expert advice and guidance is seen to have played a key role in his wide acceptability.
As the CNA, Tambuwal holds his employer, the National Assembly Service Commission in high esteem and enjoys a smooth working relationship too. And as a devout Moslem he believes that everything under the sun is directed by Allah, Who is the Supreme Being and wields all power over the affairs of men.
As he continues in this trajectory as the CNA, the emerging consensus is that he continues to sustain his leadership skills for the good of NASS and country.
To every inspirational human journey, there is a backstory. Sani Magaji Tambawal’s trajectory is no different.
He began his journey to the topmost job at Nigeria’s National Assembly when he transferred his service to the National Assembly as a Budget Officer II from the Sokoto State House of Assembly in 1992.
By a dint of hard work and compelling focus, he rose through the ranks to attain the position of Director, Budget in 2017. Based on his track records, he was elevated to the position of Secretary (Permanent Secretary) Finance and Accounts in 2020.
Tambuwal attended several local and international training programmes, seminars, workshops and conferences on administration, legislative strategic planning and management, leadership, budget and financial management.
Some of the top-notch institutions he attended include the Prestigious Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA (2006, 2009 and 2011), International Law Institute, Washington DC, USA (2012) and INSEAD The Business School for the World, Fontainebleau, France (2014),
Others are the Crown Agents, Sutton, London, UK (2016), RIPA International London, UK (2014), Public Administration International, London, UK (2022) and the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, Jos, Nigeria (2005) and Administrative Staff College of Nigeria (ASCON), Lagos.
An astute, circumspect administrator, meticulous budget and financial controller, Tambuwal has served in various committees that have succeeded in improving National Assembly financial management and resolved challenges which hitherto bedeviled the National Assembly.
He is a Fellow Certified National Accountant (FCNA), ANAN, Member, Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered) and Fellow, Institute of Chartered Economists of Nigeria.
Some of his Researches and Publications include: Budget Preparation and Implementation: An Assessment of the Problems Associated with Budgeting in National Assembly (PGD, Management), Research Project (1995) and Budgeting and the Legislature: A Case Study of Nigerian National Assembly, Masters in Business Administration (MBA, Dissertation 2001).
Sani Magaji Tambawal was born on the February 2, 1965. He had his early education at Tambawal in 1978 before moving to Birnin-Kebbi in 1983 and promptly got admission into the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto where he obtained a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mathematics, (1989), Postgraduate Diploma in Management (1996) and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration (2001) from the same Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto.
He began his career in Sokoto State Civil Service in 1990 as Statistician 1 in the Ministry of Finance, Budget and Economic Department and later Sokoto State House of Assembly as a Planning Officer I in 1992 before moving to the National Assembly.
Tambuwal has admirably deployed governance skills groomed in the stern, high-octane, finance and administrative sectors, to effectively guide the NASS this past year. To both friends and foe, this unassuming administrative sage certainly deserves kudos for keeping faith and demonstrating uncommon commitment and professionalism in a particularly challenging period of the national journey.
His interventions flow from a total commitment and passion of a disciplined turf-player who shares the vision of the arm of government he serves. He has demonstrated unflinching faith in the ingenuity of Nigerians and holds dear the promise of the nation’s shared future as he blazes the trail in style.
Tambuwal’s hobbies are reading and playing table tennis. While one enables him recharge and deepen, the other enables him discharge. He is happily married and blessed with children.
● Achi is an Abuja-based journalist.
