Every state in Nigeria is marginalised, says federal character commission

Shettima Bukar- Abba, acting chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), says  the commission is working earnestly to ensure fairness in the appointments into federal institutions.

In an interview on the Osasu Show, hosted by Osasu Igbinedion, Bukar-Abba said the federal character is “not robbing Peter to pay Paul.”

He said some Nigerians misunderstood how the commission operates and that has given rise to allegations of marginalisation.

According to him, all states are marginalised, depending on the point of view.

“We have concentrated more on issues of employment simply because of historical reasons of people complaining of marginalisation, under representation and that explains why the FG put up the FCC with 37 commissioners drawn from the 36 states and the FCT to ascertain the participation of all states of the federation in the federal character appointments,” he said.

“In that for example no state should have more than 2.5 percent of the total population of a particular MDA.

“But because of some historical antecedents, you will find certain states having more than 10-15 per cent because of the initial employment being done prior to the appointment of federal character.

“And it not possible for the commission to say since they are over the 3 percent prescribed by law, dismiss all of them and then employ on this basis.

“You close the gap by retirement, death or resignation over time. It is not something that will happen overnight.

“So we came out with a formula of ascertaining that when people employ, they should  look at the state which are seriously underrepresented and then give them more preference to them.”

Speaking on the clash between the quota and merit systems, Bukar-Abba explained that people are employed based on their qualification.

He however added that preference is given to qualified persons from under represented states. He added that women and persons with disabilities are also given preference.

Asked if restructuring and  true federalism will be a better replacement for the commission, he said good leadership, not restructuring is what is needed.

“The federal character is not about north or south, it is about states. There is no state in the federation that is not marginalised. It depends on the area you are operating,” he said.

“Federal character is not about quota system, it is not robbing Peter to pay Paul. It is allowing people from all the states to participate in an organisation of the federal government provided they are qualified.

“No federal character will say he brought that person simply because he is not qualified. If it is being done, it is the chief executives that are perhaps the people doing it, not the federal character. We frown at it.

“And when you find a larger population of a state unemployable, the only solution is that you employ them and embark them on training. Because whether you like it or not, they have a certificate.”

On the even infrastructural mandate of the FCC, he said the commission was working towards making data of infrastructural works available.

“Infrastructural development is going on in the length and breath of the country. You cannot tell me that a railway is only meant for only one state. If a railway runs from Lagos to Port Harcourt, you cannot say it is serving only the people of Lagos,” he said.

“Because some Nigerians misunderstand some of these things, we have decided to train some key officers from ministries and departments to key into statistics and make them available to everybody, so they can talk from an informed point of view.

“I have seen all forms of structure although I was  small buy by then. I have seen it from few local authorities to 774 local governments. It has not solved the problem.

“It is not restructure that is important. What is important is to get a good leadership. And we are getting one and things are now beginning to change.”