The Federal Character Commission (FCC) has emphasized the necessity for all Federal Tertiary Institutions to apply the principles of federal character in their recruitment processes, aiming at equity, fairness, and justice.
This directive was conveyed in a statement by the Director of Public Affairs and Communication at the FCC, Chuks Okoli, in Abuja on Wednesday.
According to Okoli, the application of these principles is obligatory and aligned with Section 14 (B) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He expressed concern that some Federal Tertiary Institutions have begun staff recruitment activities without due consideration for the FCC, whose responsibility is to ensure equity, fairness, and justice in such exercises.
He reiterated that the commission’s mandate is to enforce the federal character principle, which aims at ensuring a just and equitable distribution of positions, socio-economic amenities, and infrastructure among the various federating units across the nation.
“Therefore, all the Federal Character Commission guidelines must be strictly adhered to by any recruiting Federal Tertiary Institution. For the avoidance of doubt, please refer to the Commission’s handbook.
“Any person, MDA or Federal Tertiary Institution that carries out recruitment without abiding by the Federal Character Commission’s recruitment guideline and principle shall be committing an offence under Section 14, punishable under Section 15 of the Act.”, Okoli said.
