Serjeant at Arms
Ugbana Oyet - Serjeant at Arms
Ugbana Oyet
Ugbana was born in Calabar, Nigeria and moved to the UK during secondary school. His parents instilled in him Judaeo-Christian values and a strong work ethic; his first job was serving snacks in a café, aged six. At secondary school, Ugbana joined the Boys’ Brigade, instilling in him the values of serving others, discipline, and integrity.
Ugbana read electrical engineering at Southampton University and began his engineering career in Dorset, moving to projects working on Bournemouth University, the Poole Pottery site and Hampshire Country Council. He then moved to Abu Dhabi to lead the design for the development, Al Zeina, overlooking the Formula 1 racetrack followed by the Al Falah City in Saudi Arabia. Ugbana is a Chartered Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology.
Ugbana joined Parliament in 2012 as the lead electrical engineer leading on the Long-term Engineering programme. This evolved into Restoration and Renewal and the Estate Wide Engineering Infrastructure and Resilience strategy, aiming to reduce Parliament’s carbon footprint, achieve net zero by 2050 and reduce operational costs on utilities.
Ugbana was appointed Serjeant at Arms in October 2019 and is the House of Commons’ first black Serjeant at Arms in the post’s 600-year history.
In his spare time, Ugbana plays basketball with his sons in their local team and also sings in the choir of St Mary’s Undercroft, the church located within the Palace of Westminster. He is married to Claire who he met at secondary school.
The role of the Serjeant at Arms
The office of Serjeant at Arms dates back to 1415 and the reign of Henry V when the Serjeant was responsible for carrying out the orders of the House of Commons.