*To investigate all appointments from 1999 till date

By EMMAN OVUAKPORIE

MEMBERS of the House of Representatives, last week, vowed to correct all abnormalities in the recruitment of all Federal Government owned organizations since 1999 till date to check lopsidedness in administrative and political appointments.

It was also resolved that once the committee on the Federal Character Commission (FCC) is constituted, its first primary assignment would be to ensure that a massive investigation is carried out within four weeks to ascertain the level of nepotism being perpetrated by Chief Executives of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) of Government.

The FCC  was primarily designed to monitor recruitment of personnel, both administrative and political,  right the wrongs of the past and shape present and future appointments.

The lawmakers’ decision to investigate the implementation of the Federal Character Principle was a fallout of a motion sponsored by Ahmed Idris. The legislator lamented that provisions of sections 14(3,4) and 153(1) of the 1999 Constitution as they relate to federal character had been severally abused by government MDAs.

Idris said the continuous abuse of the principle had led to “an uneven distribution of infrastructure development, marginalisation, lopsidedness and imbalance in the composition of government at most levels in the ministries and their respective agencies.

Members who spoke on the motion agreed that the issue was a problem that might soon threaten the corporate existence of the country because the lopsidedness was rather on the high side.  The motion was seconded by Rep Seconte Davies representing Bonny Degema Federal Constituency of Rivers State.

Rep Idris had pointed out that the lopsidedness was alarming noting that in the Universal Basic Education Commission, for example, while a state has 34 employees some other states have between two to three persons.

Rep John Dyegh, representing Gboko/Tarka Federal Constituency, lamented that the last recruitment of the FRSC was lopsided in Benue where a particular Senatorial Diatrict had 45 people recruited while the other two districts had two each and that the  same thing was applicable to the army.

Rep Daniel Rejuvienu (Warri Federal Constituency in Delta State) captured it all saying: “My tribe is a micro minority among the tribes in Delta and the motion on the floor was timely. This aspect of our social life was copiously captured in Section 152[1], [14] and what it says is that there should be equitable distribution of human resource employment in terms of appointment, recruitment and all of that. What that translates to is that every section of this country must be carried along in terms of distribution of power.

As an Itsekiri man I am seriously affected despite the fact that I produce the mainstay of the economy. As we speak now, the Itsekiri race has only five senior police officers not because they did not apply but they were screened out because the man in charge is probably not from the Itsekiri tribe.”

Zakari Mohammed, representing Baraten Kaiama Constituency, however commended the House for the motion but quickly pointed out that “fairness, equity and fairplay should be paramount in the minds of the members because “we represent the interest of well over 250 ethnic groups or nationalities in Nigeria.”

He advised that only men of proven integrity should constitute the Federal Character Committee when it is eventually set up so that the issues would be critically examined to cater for the interests of all nationalities in the country.

At this juncture, Deputy Speaker of the House, Honourable Emeka Ihedioha, who presided the day’s proceedings, said the investigation was not designed to disengage those who were already engaged but to find ways to correct the observed lopsidedness.

Rep Umar Jibril (Lokoja Federal Constituency) noted that recently a commission rented a national stadium that was filled by applicants and probably only 10 percent of the number would be employed because the Chief Executive would appropriate majority of the applicants from his locality.

Rep Chineye Ike, Isialangwa Federal constituency, did not mince words when she said for the past 10 years “all we have been doing is to lament the lopsidedness. A robust oversight function should be carried out in terms of appointments on how to correct the mistakes and this time we should be more practical.”

This practicality is what all Nigerians are clamouring for.  If 36 good heads must be employed, it should be equitably distributed to reflect the 36 states of the federation but a situation whereby 147 people from a particular Local Government are employed because the Chief Executive of that locality heads a commission or department does not reflect true federalism.

The Deputy Speaker said it all when he declared that the country had enough good heads in all the states of the federation and that the committee once constituted should ensure that there is equitable spread in all recruitments henceforth.