Senators ask Buhari to constitute FCC board

Fred Itua, Abuja

The Senate, yesterday, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to reconstitute the Board of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) in accordance with the provisions of the law.

It decried the management structure of the agency  where a ‘sole administrator’ has been running its affairs  since 2018, describing it as a violation of the law.

The call for the constitution of the board is coming amidst ongoing probe of the Commission by the Senate Committee on Federal Character over alleged sale of Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) employment letters for N3 million.

Minority Leader of the Senate, Enyinnaya Abaribe, who raised a point of order on the subject said in the midst of massive unemployment, it was inconceivable for FCC not to be fully constituted with a board.

Abaribe said: “Pursuant to Act No. 34 of (1996 and Section 153 of the 1999 constitution (as amended) provided for the establishment of the Federal Character Commission.  Under Act No.34 of 1996, LFN subsection 1, 2 & 3 stipulates the establishment. membership and tenure of office of  the Chairman and members of the commission.  Section 3(1) of the Act states that the Chairman and members of the Commission shall hold office for a period of five years in the first instance, and for a further term of five years on such terms and conditions as may be specified in their letters of appointment.

“Since 2018, the FCC  has been run by an acting chairman who has now become a sole administrator. No provisions of the Act or the constitution stipulates the need for the office of a sole administrator or an acting Chairman. The FCC has been a tool for unity, equitable formula distribution and good governance of the nation. Failure to reconstitute the commission amounts to a constitutional breach of the act establishing the FCC.”

President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, said: “The FCC is one of those national tools that work to ensure equity, unity, fairness and justice in terms of employment distribution across all the 36 states and the FCT. It is very important we have the full complement of the Commission in place and I believe that with this resolution, it will expedite action to reconstitute the membership of the Commission.”

In its one item resolution, the Senate urged President  BUhari to immediately constitute the FCC as not doing so is a breach of the Act establishing it and the 1999 Constitution.