The appointments made by former president Muhammadu Buhari during his eight-year term will be subjected to probe by the House of Representatives.
Tuesday’s plenary session saw the Green chamber endorse the resolution after voting in favor of a motion proposed by Paul Nnamchi (Labor Party Enugu State).
During his tenure as president, Buhari came under fire from opponents for what they said to be disproportionate appointments to top government positions that violated the idea of federal character.
The Buhari administration, however, rejected the assertion at the time, insisting that the appointments were made on the basis of qualifications and not on ethnic sentiments.
While moving the motion, the lawmaker said the essence of the federal character principle was to promote national cohesion and equal opportunities.
The lawmaker also claimed that there is a “clash of interests” among the commissioners at the commission which has made the agency abdicate its constitutional and statutory responsibilities.
He said, “Twenty-four years after its constitutional entrenchment, the perception is that there exists brazen domination of the bureaucratic, economic, media, and political posts at all levels by a section of the country at the expense of the others.
“Federal Character Commission has virtually abdicated its constitutional and statutory responsibilities and degenerated into personality clash of interest among its commissioners as was the case about a year ago.”
The Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, who presided over the meeting, put the motion to a voice vote, and it was approved.
As a result, the House agreed to set-up an ad hoc committee to look into the matter.
Additionally, it asked the Federal Character Commission to send a report on all appointments made between 2015 and 2023 by ministries, departments, and agencies within its purview.
Ada Peter
