Senate probes alleged lopsided recruitment into civil service
The Senate has mandated its Committee on Establishment and Public Service Matters to investigate alleged lopsided recruitment into the Federal Civil Service.
The resolution of the Red Chamber followed its consideration and adoption of a motion, titled: “Urgent need to ensure Federal Character Principle, curb lopsidedness and emerging infractions in the recruitment and deployment of officers by the Federal Civil Service Commission and Related Agencies,” sponsored by Senator Titus Zam (APC Benue North West).
In his lead debate, Zam noted that the Federal Civil Service Commission was established with the responsibilities of recruitment and deployment of officers with requisite qualifications into the federal civil service.
The senator said it was considered that the major plank on which the commission realises its vision of building a highly focused, disciplined, committed, and patriotic civil service is the advertisement of vacancies for the ultimate and equitable recruitment of applicants into the service.
He expressed concern that “counter-productive malady to favour certain groups and not consistent with the commission’s vision, seems to have recently crept into the commission as allegations of illegal recruitment or employment
into the service is being reported”.
Zam regretted that the debilitating syndrome had permeated the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to the extent that no ministry appears insulated from the ugly trend.
The senator insisted that if urgent action was not taken to apply the Federal Character principle and curb the alleged lopsidedness, the cohesion of the civil service would become weak with attendant damage to governance and service delivery.
Other senators who contributed to the motion supported it.
Addressing reporters after the plenary, Zam said the motion was meant to curb the marginalisation of his constituents in public service jobs.
He said: “You are aware that the Federal Character principle requires that every segment of this country is supposed to be carried along in whatever employment business that is being carried out in the country.
“This is to ensure equity, inclusiveness and to see to it that every part of the country is carried along.
“We have had scenarios where some parts of this country, especially where I come from, are not carried along in the recruitment of people in the Federal Civil Service.
“That is why I had to cry out today. In some states, for example, Benue, where I come from, even when employment is done and Benue State is allocated slots, the distribution of those positions does not still reflect the state character. Everything that has to do with the Federal Civil Service, the state in particular, is not there.
“And even where only one side of the state is carried along at the expense of the others, in some cases, names of people from different parts of the state appear in other local governments. So, it has been a very serious problem.
“And when you come to Abuja, go around the ministries, you discover that Benue State, and indeed where I come from, is not properly represented. That is why I moved that motion today in the chambers.”
