Senate probes MDAs over alleged federal character violations

The senate has started investigating ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) for allegedly breaking the federal character rules.

The move follows a motion sponsored by Osita Ngwu, the senator representing Enugu west on Tuesday.

The motion was titled “urgent need to address systemic abuse and ineffective implementation of the federal character principle in Nigeria’s public sector”.

“The federal character principle, entrenched in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), mandates fair representation in federal appointments to reflect the linguistic, ethnic, religious, and geographic diversity of the nation,” Ngwu said.

“Section 14(3) and (4) of the constitution unequivocally stipulate that ‘no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or sectional groups’ should exist within the federal government or its agencies.”

The lawmaker said some MDAs have allegedly failed to comply with the federal character principle.

He listed the defaulting agencies to include the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and its subsidiary, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC); the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC); the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA); PENCOM; NDIC; the Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA); the National Library of Nigeria (NLN); the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN); the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN); the Solid Minerals Development Fund (SMDF); and the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA).

He said the senate, “regrets that against the spirit of order 96(27)(b) of the senate standing orders 2023 (as amended) and sections 62, 88, 89, 14(3)-(4) and the third schedule part I C8(1) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) which bestows on its committee on federal character and inter-governmental affairs the power of legislative oversight in matters connected to the implementation and monitoring of the policy, it is deemed that various federal institutions, including NNPCL and its subsidiary, NUPRC, NAFDAC, NPA, PENCOM, NDIC, FUTA, NLN, SMEDAN, ECN, SMDF, NNRA have consistently failed to adhere to federal character mandates, often bypassing regulations in their recruitment exercise (evidence abound).”

He alleged that the agencies “have consistently failed to adhere to federal character mandates, often bypassing regulations in their recruitment exercises”.

Supporting the motion, Seriake Dickson, the senator representing Bayelsa west, called on President Bola Tinubu to back the senate’s efforts to fix recruitment imbalances in federal agencies.

“He is the leader and chief executive of the country; he should be told that this flagrant and widespread violation must stop,” Dickson, a former governor of Bayelsa state, said.

“The national assembly is taking action, and he should throw his weight behind it. When the report is ready, he should be given a copy so that we can ensure fairness for all.”

Victor Umeh, the Anambra central senator, criticised the “intentional exclusion of certain regions, especially in federal appointments and infrastructure projects”.

“No part of Nigeria should be treated as an afterthought,” Umeh said.

The senate ordered its committee on federal character and intergovernmental affairs to investigate and report back within four weeks with the representatives of the Nigerian Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA).