International Journal of Case Studies (ISSN Online 2305-509X)

VOLUME 14, ISSUE 9
IMPACT FACTOR 4.428

1) Assessing the Application of Federal Character Policy to Recruitment and Appointment of Personnel into the Nigerian Federal Civil Service
Author Details: Sunday Sam Umana (PhD)¹ *Peter Okon Eyo^{2 1}Department of Public Administration, University of Uyo, Nigeria ²Department of Public Administration, Akwa Ibom State Polytechnic, Ikot Osurua, Nigeria
Abstract:
this study examined the application of Federal Character Policy (FCP) to recruitment and appointment of personnel into Nigeria’s Federal Civil Service. The study was premised on the fact that despite the well-intended objectives of the FCP, its implementation has been fraught with challenges which have raised concerns about its effectiveness and impact on the Nigerian civil service. However, amongst the major challenges Nigeria is facing as a country today are the feeling of discontent, exclusion, mutual distrust, ethnic loyalty and the hue and cry of marginalization by some minority ethnic groups. The study is anchored on the Representative Bureaucracy theory which is based on the assumption that bureaucrats’ social demographic background is very significant as it affects their value system which in turn influences administrative decision-making. The cross-sectional survey research design was employed for this study. The data for the study were obtained from primary and secondary sources. While the secondary sources included published textbooks, government documentary evidence, and credible online journals; the primary source(s) was from a structured questionnaire that was administered to 351 federal civil servants serving in Akwa Ibom state. The findings of this study revealed that though the application of the federal character policy in the recruitment and appointment in Nigeria’s Federal Civil Service has improved the level of representativeness of the various sections of the country, some measures of lopsidedness in the nature of representativeness and the application of the FCP still persist, with minorities still being marginalised. Based on the above findings, it was recommended amongst others that the emphasis of the implementation of the Federal Character Policy should not start and end with representativeness. Rather, in addition to achieving the ethnic spread, there is need for effective implementation with regards to fairness while conducting recruitment and appointment of persons into the service.
Key words:Appointment; Civil Service; Federal Character; Recruitment; Representative Bureaucracy
[Download Full Paper] [Page 01-15]
================================================================================