The Chairman of Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Senator Allwell Onyesoh said, it won’t be business as usual, threatening that any government agency that breaches Acts establishing Federal Character Commission would be sanctioned.
He said, Federal Character principle must be respected for Nigerians to be equitably treated.
Onyesoh stated this on Wednesday when the Committee had a crucial meeting with management of the National Assembly Service Commission at the National Assembly.
Accordingly, Senator Onyesoh asked the National Assembly Service Commission to breakdown the number of employed staff in the commission from the State and local government to enable the Committee to see the level of compliance.
According to him, every State and local government is expected to have equal opportunity in the employment, he further asked the commission to furnish his committee with more documents to enable them have more knowledge of what the commission has drawn.
“We felt that it is proper for us to call the National Assembly Service Commission and sit down with them to clarify issues and make all their activities more transparent, more glaringly clear for people to see that all state and local government are not sub change in their activities”.
The lawmaker added that ” the essence of the Federal Character is to create unity, fairness and equity among all Nigerian adding that there will not be peace if someone is feeling rejected and not carried along.”
According to him, number of the local government will also determine what state will get,you can expect a state like Kano with 44 local government to equal opportunity with state 11 local government like Nasarawa he said.
Earlier, the executive Chairperson of the Federal Character Commission, Dr. Muheeba Farida Dankaka, denied that there is job racketeering under her watch, adding that it happened in the past when, “the place was like a market place.”
She urged the Committee to assist the Commission to be able to correct the past wrongs and help them with their budget as the 2024 Capital approved for them by the National Assembly was reduced to zero.
According to him,the National Assembly service Commission only did employment since 2018 that the commission has about 300 Vacancy which will soon recruits immediately the permanent office is completed by end of the year he said”Job for money, Senate frowns at lack of adherence to federal character principles.
