The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has expressed willingness to collaborate with the Federal Character Commission (FCC) to promote transparency and fairness in public service recruitment.

ICPC chairman Musa Aliyu made this known during a courtesy visit to the acting chairman of the FCC, Kayode Aladele, on Thursday in Abuja.

Mr Aliyu said the collaboration was necessary to address the rising cases of job racketeering and lopsided appointments in public institutions.

He explained that the ICPC had received numerous complaints from Nigerians, especially youths, about irregularities in recruitment processes across federal government agencies.

“Cases of job racketeering where recruitment processes are manipulated for personal gain have become rampant, and the most affected victims are our young people,” he said.

Mr Aliyu decried the pressure on government agencies to recruit candidates based on ethnic or regional affiliations, which he said undermined fairness and national unity.

He cited examples of disparities uncovered by the ICPC in recruitment patterns of some agencies, where one state had as many as 94 employment slots within two years, while others were grossly underrepresented.

“In one agency, a state got 6.8 per cent of appointments while another had only 1.1 per cent. The FCT got 0.4 per cent, far below the minimum one per cent required by law,” he added.

He stressed that Sections 14 and 15 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) and Section 6 of the ICPC Act mandate both commissions to promote fairness, prevent corruption, and prosecute offenders.

The ICPC chairman, therefore, called for synergy between the two agencies to ensure equitable representation and uphold integrity in the public service.

Responding, Mr Aladele welcomed the move and said it marked the first time both agencies were coming together to jointly tackle recruitment irregularities.

He explained that the FCC had two core mandates: equitable distribution of positions in public institutions and the fair allocation of social amenities and infrastructure across states and local governments.

“The public often associates us only with employment. But we also work to ensure that development projects are evenly spread across the federation,” he also said.

The FCC acting chairman revealed that the commission had set up a directorate to oversee the monitoring of infrastructure distribution in line with its broader mandate.

He assured the ICPC that the FCC was ready to work with it to sanitise the system and ensure compliance with the Federal Character principles, in line with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.

“This Commission is directly answerable to the president, and we have the political will to act. We will not shy away from our responsibilities,” he added.

Mr Aladele described job racketeering as a major concern and pledged that the FCC would support efforts to restore integrity and fairness in public sector recruitment.

(NAN)