Some Nigerians have rejected the idea of using federal character as a basis for appointment by the Federal Government, a latest poll by some University of Lagos (UNILAG) students has shown.
It has become a tradition for the president of the nation to appoint ministers from each state of the federation and reflect the principle of federal character in other appointments.
A recent survey conducted by a group of Mass Communication 2014/2015 postgraduate students of UNILAG has, however, dismissed this idea and called for its abolition.
Specifically, the report showed that out of 200 people polled, 127 respondents, representing 65.5 per cent, favoured the idea of discarding the federal character principle in making appointments; only one respondent, representing 0.5 per cent of the whole population of the survey, supported the retention of the federal character. Thirty-nine other respondents, 19.5 per cent of the people, were indifferent. About 33 people failed to return their questionnaires.
The report of the survey stated that the objective of the group in carrying out the study was to find out the reflection of federal character in the President’s appointments and its relevance to nation building.
Notwithstanding the cry of marginalisation by some sections of the country in the appointments, the survey showed that 42.5 per cent of the respondents (85 people) agreed that federal character was reflected in the President’s recent appointments while 38.0 per cent (76 respondents) disagreed with the former.
A total of 78 people (39 per cent of the respondents) stated the appointments favoured the males while 16.5 per cent of the respondents (33 people) stated the appointments did not favour the females; 28.5 per cent of the respondents (57 people) were indifferent.
A total of 131 respondents in the survey are Christians, representing 65 per cent; 31 of the total respondents are Muslims, representing five per cent; with five other respondents belonging to other religions, representing 2.5 per cent.
On the scale of federal character, 70 respondents scored the President good in the appointments, which is 34 per cent of the people; 25, representing 17 percent, gave him excellent; while 58, representing 29 per cent of the respondents were indifferent with only 13 people, representing 6.5 per cent scoring him bad.