By Abbanobi -Eku Onyekachi, Abuja
The Nigerian Senate has raised concerns about the persistent challenges in achieving balance and equity within the country’s public service. Senator Osita Ngwu, (Enugu West), sponsored a motion on Tuesday at the senate plenary, highlighting the limitations in recruitment opportunities, skewed promotions, and insufficient avenues for worker mobility outside the public sector.
The Federal Character Principle, enshrined in the 1999 Constitution, mandates fair representation in federal appointments, reflecting the nation’s linguistic, ethnic, religious, and geographic diversity ¹. However, despite this provision, imbalances persist between institutions, with certain regions remaining underrepresented.
The Senate noted that the process of addressing public sector disparities has been undermined by institutional inertia, lack of accountability, and recruitment influenced by internal preferences rather than merit and fairness. The quota system has also created confusion between merit-based recruitment and equitable state representation, detrimental to discipline, morale, and institutional efficiency.
To address these challenges, the Senate resolved to mandate the Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs to conduct thorough investigative hearings across all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) of the Federal Government. The committee is tasked with ascertaining compliance with the provisions of Sections 14(3) and 14(4) of the 1999 Constitution, ensuring fair and equitable representation across all regions and ethnic groups in promotions and recruitment.
The Federal Character Commission (FCC), constitutionally empowered to oversee the implementation of the Federal Character Principle, remains hindered by chronic underfunding, political interference, and limited enforcement capabilities.
Experts argue that the federal character principle was introduced to promote inclusion, representation, and balance in the polity, providing equality of access in public service representation to curb dominance by a few states or ethnic groups. However, the ineffective implementation of the principle has led to poor appointments and enhanced mediocrity rather than merit.
The Senate’s resolution aims to address the systemic abuse and ineffective implementation of the Federal Character Principle, promoting national integration and addressing the unbalanced structure and ethnic domination in government.
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Sent: Tue, Mar 18, 2025 at 18:43
Subject: Senate moving against abuse of federal character principle
Senate moves against abuse of federal character principle
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