The House of Representatives Committee on University Education has raised concerns over what it described as a growing disregard for federal character principles in staff recruitment and student admissions at several federal universities.
The Chairman of the Committee, Abubakar Hassan Fulata, made the disclosure in a statement issued to journalists in Abuja on Thursday.
The statement followed the committee’s recent oversight visits to the University of Ibadan, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, the Federal University of Technology, Akure, and other federal universities in the South-West.
According to Fulata, adherence to federal character must be reflected in staff recruitment and student admissions across public universities, regardless of their geographical location.
“We have observed that many universities are not complying with the federal character principles in the appointment and employment of workers, even in the admission of students.
“The Act establishing the Federal Character Commission is very clear on this aspect: 2.7 per cent equity share for each state of the federation, 1 per cent for the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, and 3 per cent for the state where the institution is located. But there is no semblance of this in these universities today,” Fulata noted.
He stressed that the oversight exercise was not intended to witch-hunt anyone but was a constitutional obligation designed to promote efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the system.
