General
Senate Probes Abuse of Federal Character Principle in NNPC, CBN, Others
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Senate is investigating all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) and even infrastructural development across the country to determine their level of compliance with Sections 14(3) and 14(4) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which focuses on the federal character principle.
The federal character principle mandates that the government at all its levels should reflect Nigeria’s diversity to ensure national unity and prevent domination and also ensure that all communities have fair and equitable representation in governance.
The upper chamber has mandated its Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs to conduct a thorough investigation hearing into possible infringement of this principle.
This resolution followed a motion raised by Senator Osita Ngwu, who acknowledged the persistent challenges in achieving equity within Nigeria’s public service, including limited recruitment opportunities, skewed promotions based on years of service rather than merit, and a lack of mobility for workers outside the public sector.
Lawmakers also noted that despite constitutional provisions mandating fair representation across ethnic, linguistic, religious, and geographic lines, imbalances continue to exist.
The Senate specifically criticised several federal institutions, including the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and its subsidiaries, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) and the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), among others, for allegedly failing to adhere to federal character mandates in their recruitment processes.
The committee is expected to report back within three months with findings and recommendations to ensure fair and equitable representation in federal appointments, promotions, recruitment and infrastructural distribution across the over 900 MDAs.
