EVALUATING THE EQUITY OF FEDERAL CHARACTER PRINCIPLE AS SPECIE OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN THE NIGERIAN DEMOCRATIC SYSTEM

Federal Character Commission

Abstract

The federal character principle is aimed at providing equitable attention in the distribution of governmental and public positions within the civil and public service as well as other areas of benefits with a view to solving the problem of ethnic domination of the nation’s governmental offices by any particular ethnic group particularly to the detriment of vulnerable ethnic groups. Ethnicity has been viewed as a major hindrance that causes a state of imbalance in the even distribution of governmental and public offices in Nigeria. To curb this misfortune, the federal government of Nigeria established the Federal Character Commission as a federal executive body through Act No. 34 of 1996 to implement and enforce the Federal Character Principle of fairness and equity in the distribution of public posts and socio-economic infrastructures among the various federating units of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The author therefore maintained that the Federal Character Principle has not yet attained the purpose of its creation, as ethnic related sentiments and huddles operate to dominate every inch of the fabrics of the nation, Nigeria. The paper therefore concluded the result of the failure of the Federal Character Principle on the above direction has led to the dominance of some ethnic groups in the corridors of power, to the marginalization of the weaker ethnic groups.