The House of Representatives has ordered its committee on the Navy to investigate alleged supplementary recruitment conducted for 44 candidates, all of northern origin, in the 2021/2022 exercise.
This followed the adoption of a motion on matters of urgent public importance moved by Ben Rollands Ibakpa during plenary on Wednesday. Presenting the motion, Ibakpa said the supplementary recruitment was against the Principle of Federal Character and violates Section 14 of the 1999 Constitution.
He informed the House that the Nigerian Navy Shortlisted 44 candidates for the 2021/2022 recruitment exercise and have scheduled a pre-screening exercise for the candidates before their full induction into the Nigeria Naval Service.
“All the successful candidates that are to report for training in 2 Batches at the Nigerian Navy Basic Training School Onne, Port Harcourt, Rivers State are all from a particular part of the country which negates the Federal Character principle of all-inclusiveness, equity and fair play,” he said.
He noted that Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution provides that all appointments must reflect Federal Character.
According to him, the Section provides that, “The composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to promote national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or any of its agencies”.
The underlying purpose of the principle in a multi-ethnic society like Nigeria is to ensure equal participation of the various ethnic extractions in the governance of the country.
“The principle is also aimed at preventing the domination by one or some ethnic groups in the affairs of the country and the exclusion of other ethnic groups,” he added.