“In the end, the true test of this approach will not be measured in applause or headlines. It will be measured in laws that are clear, coherent, and durable. Laws that do what they say. Laws that stand up to scrutiny”.
BY JOHNSON MOMODU
In lawmaking, precision is not decoration. It is destiny. A poorly drafted statute does not merely confuse. It misgoverns, invites litigation, and erodes public trust in institutions meant to provide clarity and order.
In this sense, legislative drafting is not a backstage function. It is the spine of democratic governance.
For Kamoru Ogunlana, Esq., a lawyer by training and Clerk to the National Assembly since his appointment took effect on 2nd February 2025, this understanding has shaped his first year in office. He has described the office of the Clerk as the engine room of Nigeria’s legislative system, entrusted with safeguarding the integrity of the lawmaking process.
While public attention has understandably focused on institutional reforms, staff welfare, and administrative restructuring, a less visible but equally consequential shift has been unfolding in the technical heart of lawmaking itself.
Naturally, Ogunlana’s legal background brings with it a particular sensitivity to the downstream consequences of weak drafting. Laws that are ambiguous or internally inconsistent rarely fail at the point of passage. They fail later, in courtrooms, in regulatory confusion, and in uneven or contested implementation.
His approach treats legislative drafting not as a routine clerical exercise, but as a discipline that demands rigour, method, and accountability. In March 2025, he advocated strongly for the development of a dedicated legislative drafting manual for the National Assembly, describing it as essential to improving the overall quality and coherence of legislation produced by the institution.
This philosophy is reflected, indirectly but unmistakably, in the ongoing review of the National Assembly Service Act. By advancing merit-based qualifications for appointments across the Service, including positions that shape legislative drafting and committee work, the reform seeks to professionalise the ecosystem from which laws emerge.
When competence and specialised experience become the standard, the quality of bills, reports, and resolutions improves by design rather than by chance.
Capacity building has reinforced this logic. Within the year under review, over 4,200 staff and legislative aides underwent training, with targeted programmes that strengthened legal writing, statutory interpretation, and compliance with constitutional and regulatory frameworks.
These efforts extend to workshops and internship programmes, including those supported by the Policy and Legal Advocacy Centre, where participants gain practical exposure to parliamentary procedures, effective debating, and legislative drafting techniques. Such interventions are not headline-friendly, but they often mark the difference between a bill that survives scrutiny and one that collapses under it.
Operational reforms have also played a supporting role. The standardisation of financial administration and the equitable allocation of resources have ensured that technical departments are no longer constrained by avoidable bottlenecks. Research and drafting thrive in environments where access to tools, data, and institutional support is predictable.
Seen through this lens, the renovation of the old Library building and its planned handover to the National Assembly Budget and Research Office is not an afterthought. It is an investment in the intellectual infrastructure of lawmaking.
However, there is no harm in admitting that the limits of analogue systems remain evident. The digitalisation of legislative processes, which Ogunlana has acknowledged as long overdue, is central to the next phase of reform. Modern drafting demands tools that can track amendments in real time, cross reference statutes accurately, and ensure consistency across complex legislative texts.
Without these systems, even the most skilled drafters are forced to work against the grain of contemporary governance.
What emerges from this first year is a subtle, but important reorientation. Legislative drafting is being reclaimed as a core democratic function rather than a procedural chore. The emphasis is not on speed, but on soundness. Not on volume, but on validity.
In the end, the true test of this approach will not be measured in applause or headlines. It will be measured in laws that are clear, coherent, and durable. Laws that do what they say. Laws that stand up to scrutiny.
And laws that remind citizens that governance, at its best, begins with words carefully chosen and responsibly arranged.
…Johnson Momodu, a political analyst, is based in Benin.
