Amaechi Laments Lopsided Allocations Of Resources, Opportunities

The Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has lamented the absence of the Federal Character Principle in the allocation of the nation’s resource and opportunities, 15 years after the establishment of the Commission.

Governor Amaechi said this last Monday during a national Retreat on “Transformation of Nigeria: Role of the Federal Character Commission. The Second Mandate”, at Hotel Presidential, Port Harcourt.

Represented by his deputy, Engr. Tele Ikuru, the Governor expressed regret that “the pattern of recruitment into most federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs) was lopsided “, charging it to use the opportunity of the retreat to examine and assess itself with a view to reposition it to deliver on its Second Mandate.

The State Chief Executive stated that the present administration is working to deliver on its mandate of transforming the lives of its people through pragmatic programmes and projects, pointing out that so far the State Government is “complying steadfastly with the requirements of the Commission’s First Mandate for equitable distribution of employment and appointment opportunities and also actively executing its Second Mandate in the provision and spread of social services, economic amenities and infrastructural facilities”.

Speaking, Chairman of the occasion and former Vice Chancellor of the University of Port Harcourt, Professor Nimi Briggs, noted that the Federal Character Commission was established to address any imbalance in the distribution of opportunities and resources and also agitations from different sections of the country after the Civil War, calling for firmness and fairness in the implementation of the federal character principle.

Earlier, in her keynote address, the Minister of Finance, Mrs Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, represented by a Director in her Ministry, Mr. O.E. Etah, reiterated President Goodluck Jonathan’s Transformation Agenda which affords Nigerians equal opportunities for employment and wealth creation, urging the commission to help realise this agenda by ensuring a fair and equitable distribution of the nation’s resources and opportunities, and urged Nigerians to preserve the social and infrastructural facilities in their areas.

In his Welcome Address, Executive Chairman of the Commission, Professor Shuaibu Abdulraheem, acknowledged that the equitable distribution of the nation’s resources and opportunities has continued to be a source of concern, saying, however, that he was hopeful of a smooth implementation of the commission’s Second Mandate.