NASSLAF: Legislative aides endorse Kilani for chairmanship

Legislative Aides in the upper and lower legislative Chambers of the National Assembly on Monday endorsed the candidacy of Barrister Afeez Kilani for Chairmanship of the forum ahead of their election.

The endorsement was after he declared intention to vie for the position of Chairmanship of the National Assembly Legislative Aides Forum, NASSLAF, saying he has adequate experience having rose from Legislative Assistant 2 in 2015 when he came to the National Assembly to Senior Legislative Aide in 2024.

Popularly known as ‘Alhaji Prince Afeez Kilani’, among the folks, he hails from Shaki West in Oyo State in the South West Nigeria and has been an aide to a third term Senator, Abdulfatai Buhari.

Speaking with journalists, Prince Afeez expressed optimism of winning as legislative aides from various zones have indicated their support for a paradigm shift in the administration of the Forum, which the lawyer said, he would bring his experience to bear, particularly on the welfare of members of the forum.

Prince Kilani said: “I have been here since the year 2015. I got here as a legislative Assistant, that is LA2 and because of the level of dedication my boss promoted me to LA1 in 2019.

“Now I am the SLA to the distinguished Senator Buhari Abdulfatai, he is a third time Senator in the Nigerian senate.

“With this carrier progression, coupled with my experience in the National Assembly, at least I have run through the ranks of the aides of the National Assembly.

“I think I am in the best position to understand the yearnings and the needed welfare of the legislative aides because I have gone through the ranks of the legislative aides.

“We don’t want a situation whereby an aide or a chairman will be elected and he will not understand what other legislative aides are going through.

He said there is no need to elect a chairman that will not understand the pains, the feelings and yearnings of Legislative aides.

He said he is a reflection, a manifest example of a leader who has gone through the ranks of legislative aide because, “I started my carrier as an SL2 but now I am the SLA so there is nothing that any legislative aide is going through that I don’t understand.

“With that understanding, I am in the best position to pilot the affairs of the National Assembly Legislative aides. If you give me your support, I am going to serve you better.”

He explained that diplomacy in required in the handling of relationships between the Aides and the NASS management, stressing that as a Lawyer, he is well versed in in dispute resolution and dialogue approach rather than confrontation in form of strike or protest.

“We are in the 21st century, and as a lawyer there is what is called alternative dispute resolution. In labour law, it is very important that confrontation, protests should be the last thing, should be on the last burner.

‘The first thing is negotiation, good approach to issues, we are in a democratic era. It is when all that fails that we can adopt confrontation which we are not going to even adopt.

“I know with my skills as a lawyer for more than 11 years of experience, it is not going to be difficult for me to meet with management to convince them of the reason why they should take care of us.”

Chairman of the Southwest National Assembly Legislative Forum, Ogumawola Ebenezer, said, “As you can see the ovation is loud because we have gone through rigorous screening and Southwest as a leading zone when it comes to affairs of the NASSLAF. We have taken everything into consideration and we decided one voice to queue behind our own Barr. Afeez Kilani as our candidate

“We are tired of recirculation of warn out leaders. We don’t want people that have been circulating themselves since the 5th Assembly.

“You have heard the voice of the aides, the first timers, and the semi first timers and we have decided as the South West zone we have decided to put our own, someone who’s door will be opened, who will not stay in the office wanting people to come and meet him.

“He is someone that will go round to know the needs and yearnings of the aides. This is the man we are looking for. This is the reason we are doing to stand by him, He is not for South West but for all the zones.

Olusola Olugbami AKA maintain said they need Somebody that will do what others have not been able to do, you know in the South West, we don’t take the back seat.

“Whenever we said we have resolved to do something that is what we will do. This is our candidate and by the grace of God, he is going to emerge victorious.