Abstract
The study examines federal character principle and staff recruitment in Nigerian public service with emphasis on Nigeria port authority Lagos. The federal character principles were adopted in Nigeria to ensure that no group or section suffers imbalance or marginalization of any kind. However, its implementation had been criticized by scholars and public servants who see it as an instrument of favoring some sections of the country against others through marginalization and nepotism in the area of employment contrary to the federal character principle. Federal institutions are accused of recruiting on the basis of nepotism and favoritism without minding the effect on fairness and equity. The study adopt the Bureaucratic Theory to investigated the issues associated with recruitment procedures in relation to the extent to which federal character commission has promoted equity in its recruitment procedure.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the study
Nigeria, Africa‘s most populous black nation is a federation (section 2 subsection 2 of the 1999, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria). Like many African States, Nigerian is an ethnically deeply divided State with over 250 ethnic groups. The Northern part consists of the Fulani, Hausa, Nupe, etc, the Southern part consists of the Yorubas, Edo, Urhobo, etc, the Eastern part consists of the Igbos. Each group not only inhabits a particular area but has its own language, culture, religion, etc (Adeosun, 2011). As a multi-ethnic state, Nigeria is confronted with myriad of problems ranging from the caustic existence among the different groups, fear of domination of one group and unequal distribution of the national resources such as recruitment in Nigeria Civil Service. These problems have resulted mainly in inter-ethnic conflicts and mutual distrust which have hampered efforts at national integration. Successive governments have tried to resolve these problems through policies such as the Federal Character Principle, Unity Schools, Local Government Creation, etc. Federal Character Principles (FCPs) constitute a set of policies designed by the Nigeria government to integrate the diverse ethnic groups in the country. The federal character principle which was enshrined in the 1979 Constitution of Nigeria seeks to ensure equitable representation of ethnic, religious and geographic diversities of the country in the public service. The introduction of federal character policies in Nigeria is to foster unity, peace, equal access to state resources and promotion of the integration of the less advantaged states for better improvement and good conditions of living in the country (Bamidele and Ikulege, 2004). The Federal Character Commission (FEC) is a Federal Executive body established by Act No. 34 of 1996 to implement and enforce the Federal Character Principles of fairness and equity in the distribution of public posts, socio-economic amenities and infrastructural facilities among the federating units of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The provision of sections 14 and 153 of 1999 constitution further empowers the commissions to operate in a democratic setting. Section 14(3) of the 1979 Constitution defines Federal Character as distinctive desire of the peoples of Nigeria to promote national unity, foster national loyalty and give every citizen of Nigeria a sense of belonging to the nation notwithstanding the diversities of ethnic origin, language or religion as a desire to nourish and harness the diversification the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Section 14 (3) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria states that: The composition of the government of the Federation or any 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 command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that government or in any of its agencies. Section 217 (3) provides that the composition of the officer corps and other ranks of the Armed Forces of the Federation shall reflect the federal character of Nigeria. Various other provisions were made in the constitution to ensure that the federal character principle becomes operative in the political process (Nnoli, 1996 cited in Adeosun, 2011). Section 147 states that in the appointment of Ministers, the president shall reflect the federal character of Nigeria provided that in giving effects to the provision aforesaid, the president shall appoint at least one Minister from each state who shall be an indigene of such state (Nnoli, 1996 cited in Adeosun, 2011). To this end the Federal character Commission (FCC) was established by act No. 34 of 1996 to implement and enforce the Federal Character Principle of fairness and equity in the distribution of public post, socio- economic amenities and infrastructural facilities among the federating units of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The provision of the 1999 constitution of section 14 and 153 also empowers the commission to operate in a democratic setting (Samuel et al., 2012). The federal character principle was incorporated as an employment policy having taken into cognizance the impervious and insistence demand by each ethnic group, no matter how small numerically, or how poor materially, or how backward educationally for a fair and dignified place in the Nigeria sum. For some time now, the federal public service has come under criticism because its performance left much to be desired, knowing that the Federal public service is a body without which the business of government would be impossible to operate. Many attribute its inefficiency to the adoption of the Federal Character Principle which they believe negates the administrative ethics of merit system skill, qualification, and experience through training which are the basic criteria for efficiency.
Presently, the Federal Character Principle is recognized by the 1999, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The Principle is enshrined in Section 14 subsection3 and 4 of the same constitution. According to Section 14(3) “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 command national loyalty, thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few States or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or any of its agencies”. Section 14(4) says: “The composition of the Government of a State, a Local government council, or any of the agencies of such Government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of the Government or council or such agencies shall be carried out in such manner as to recognize the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all the peoples of the federation” (FRN, 1999). The Federal Character Commission (FCC) is a Federal Agency established by Act No. 34 of 1996 to implement and enforce the Federal Character Principle of fairness and equity in the distribution of public posts (Civil Service and Public Service) and socio-economic infrastructure among the various Federating Units of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Some scholars like Hirnyam, Igwe, etc, argue strongly that the Federal Character Commission does not perform in the spirit and manner of the Federal Character Principle in the recruitment of civil servants in Nigeria Civil Service. That stands to be the main reason why the Nigerian Civil Service is characterized by incompetent leadership, unqualified, less-qualified and inexperienced civil servants, inefficiency and ineffectiveness and among others. Igwe, (2012), argues that the Federal Character Principle has only managed to further deepen disunity, promote incompetence in the civil service and advance inequality, sectional nepotism and corruption.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The Nigerian State as a multi-ethnic State like many other African States has been confronted with myriad of problems ranging from the rancorous existence among different ethnic groups/sectional groups that constitute the state, fear of domination of one group by another and unequal distribution of the national resources among the ethnic groups. In order to address and solve these problems for national unity and co-existence, successive governments have drafted policies such as Federal Character Principle, Unity Schools, Local Government Creation, to mention but a few. The Federal Character Principle is a very powerful instrument designed to promote national unity and command national loyalty and also promote a sense of belonging among the federating units of the state. In other words, it is designed to ensure that the composition of the Government of the federation, State, Local Government Council or any of the agencies of such Government or council and the conduct of the affairs of such Government or council is not dominated by any ethnic/sectional group or a few groups (ethnic/sectional group). The Federal Character Principle is enshrined in Section 14 Subsection 3 and 4 of the 1999, Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The application of the Federal Character Principle in the recruitment of civil servants in Nigerian Civil Service by the Federal Character Commission has turned the Principle from a very powerful instrument to solve the problems of multi-ethnicity and ensure efficiency, effectiveness and professionalism in Nigerian Civil Service to a very powerful instrument used to deepen disunity, promote incompetence, ineffectiveness and inefficiency in Nigerian Civil Service as less qualified and incompetent civil servants are employed in Nigerian Civil Service in the name of the Federal Character Principle. Hence, it has advanced inequality, sectional nepotism and corruption both in the Civil Service and in the State at large.
1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The main objective of this study is to examine the application of federal character principles and staff recruitment in the Nigerian public services with emphasis on Nigeria port authority Lagos; but to aid the completion of the study, the researcher intend to achieve the following specific objectives;
- i) To examine the effect of federal character principle on staff quality in Nigeria public service
- ii) To ascertain the effect of federal character principle on staff recruitment
iii) To ascertain if there is any significant relationship between federal character principle and quality staffing in Nigeria public service
- iv) To examine the effect of federal character principle on the efficiency of the Nigeria federal public service
1.4 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The following research questions were formulated by the researcher to aid the completion of the study
- i) Does federal character principle has any effect on staff quality in Nigeria public service?
- ii) Does federal character principle have any effect on staff recruitment?
iii) Is there any significant relationship between federal character principle and quality staffing in Nigeria public service?
- iv) Do federal character principle have any effect on the efficiency of the Nigeria federal public service?
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It is believed that the analytical, conceptual and empirical studies will be a furtherance of understanding of salient dynamics, relating to federal character principle in contemporary staffing process of the Nigerian federal public service.
The study will also serve as a useful tool for students, who would want to carry out further research in this area. It would also be useful to public administrators. The study would be significant to policy makers and implementers at large, as they will find this study useful.
1.6 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES
The following research hypotheses were formulated by the researcher to aid the completion of the study;
H0: there is no significant relationship between federal character principle and quality staffing in Nigeria public service
H1: there is a significant relationship between federal character principle and quality staffing in Nigeria public service
H0: federal character principle does not have any effect on staff recruitment
H2: federal character principle does have an effect on staff recruitment
1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of the study covers federal character principles and staff recruitment in the Nigeria public service, the emphasis of this study was focused on the recruitment process of Nigeria port authority Lagos was used as a parameter for other public parastatals and ministries recruitment process.
1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The scope of the study was limited to the recruitment process of the Nigeria port authority Lagos as the population of the study was large enough to draw conclusion and generalized the outcome to other public service recruitment process in Nigeria
1.9 THEORETICAL REVIEW
The theory adopted in this research is the ―Bureaucratic Theory‖ of Max Weber. Max Weber, a German Sociologist, lawyer and social historian is acclaimed the proponent of this theory in his book- “The Theory of Social and Economic Organizations”, where he showed how management could be more efficient and consistent. According to him, the ideal model of management is the bureaucracy approach (Abba, 2008). Bureaucratic Management is a traditional management system that relies much on system of written and abstract rules (Nwankwo, 2008) or detailed rules and procedures (Abba, 2008), a set of hierarchy of authority, division of labor and specialization, etc. Bureaucracy is defined as a type of organization that is hierarchically and rationally designed to coordinate the works of many individuals for the purpose of enabling organizations to most effectively and efficiently accomplish their goals. This Bureaucracy Theory is based on certain basic principles of which the merit system of operation or merit and qualification rule‖ is one of its core principle/value. According to the theory, in every bureaucratic organization there should be a defined/minimum qualification for all positions. Weber justified this element by arguing that ―bureaucratic administration means fundamentally the exercise of control on the basis of knowledge. This is the feature which makes it specifically rational‖. For an employee to be useful to an organization he needs to possess certain technical qualifications, which will be tapped by the organization in the pursuit of these goals. Apart from employment, promotions should also be based on purely objective criteria like performance or seniority or both (Nwankwo, 2008). The Bureaucratic Theory is a theory in public administrative management which enthrones professionalism, efficiency and effectiveness in any organization where it is being practiced whether public (civil service of public service) or private organizations. Today the dominant form of government is bureaucratically organized. The Nigeria Civil Service as a matter of fact is not an exception. An organization in which the recruitment of staffs or employees is based on merit system or the principle of merit and qualification rule is applied; the organization enthrones professionalism, efficiency and effectiveness. The above principle is contrast to the politicized form of civil service which recruitment into the service is in accordance with a number of political criteria that breathes inefficiency, and ineffectiveness in service delivery, above all lacks professionalism. Such criteria here include: Patronage politics, cronyism, manipulation of the Federal Character Principle, ethnic sentiment, spoil system, etc, with the major administrative functionaries been sundry allies of the party or men in power. In other words, the Bureaucratic Theory is political neutral, without sentiments, highly impersonal and professionally based from top to bottom. Recruitment is according to the universal merit system which has to do with quality of one‘s educational attainment, performance in competitive and open examination to be conducted by an organized neutral body. Merit as a principle and value of the Bureaucratic Theory entails that progress while in service is not necessary by sentiment or emotion but by qualification, which will enhance government capacity to deliver what the people need and eventually enthrones effectiveness, efficiency and professionalism in the civil service. From the above submission, it follows in application that recruitment of civil servants into the Nigerian Civil Service should be carried out on the basis of merit and qualification rule, through competitive and open examination conducted by an organized neutral body. The Bureaucratic Theory to this extent becomes the primary drive for the Nigeria Civil Service that seeks to be effective and efficient in service delivery, and above all professionally standard. By implication, when the Nigeria Civil Service is manned by professional and qualified personnels, the level of its performance in service delivery to the populace will certainly increase, and the problems associated with multi-ethnicity or ethnicity, unequal distribution of national resources, etc will be resolved. Hence, the adoption of Bureaucratic Theory in administrative practice becomes undoubtedly relevant to engender effectiveness, efficiency and professionalism in the Nigeria Civil Service, above all the objectives of the Federal Character Principle will be achieved. This is because, when the recruitment of civil servants in the Nigerian Civil Service is done through the merit system, the Nigerian Civil Service will be effective, efficient and highly professional. This as a result will resolved the problems associated with multi-ethnicity or ethnicity, fear of domination by one or a few ethnic/sectional groups, unequal distribution of the national resources and above all command national unity and national loyalty
1.10 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Federal character principle
Federal Character Principle is a deliberate arrangement made by a state government with a legal back-up to solve the problems associated with multi-ethnicity or ethnicity, fear of domination by one or few ethnic/sectional groups, unequal distribution of the national resources, and the need to promote national unity, and also command national loyalty, by ensuring fair and equitable distribution of the national resources among the ethnic/sectional groups that constitute the state
Federal character commission
Federal Character Commission (FCC) is a Federal Executive body establishes by Act No. 34 of 1996 to implement and enforce the Federal Character Principle of fairness and equity in the distribution of public posts (Civil Service and Public Service) and socio-economic infrastructures among the various federating units of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
Recruitment
Recruitment is defined as a process or specific steps through which suitable candidates are attracted to apply for examination and declaring the right candidates for particular jobs.
Civil service
Civil Service is the machinery through which the government implements its policies, designed to meet political aims and provide social services. In other words, it is a government institution that plays important role in ensuring that government policies result in tangible services for the entire population
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