The House of Representatives has resolved to investigate the supplementary recruitment of 44 candidates by the Nigerian Navy for alleged federal character principle violation.

The resolution followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance by Rep Ben Igbakpa (PDP-Delta) at the plenary on Wednesday in Abuja.

Moving the motion, Igbakpa noted that all the successful candidates, called to report for training in two batches at the Nigerian Navy Basic Training School in Rivers, were all from a particular section of the country.

This, according to him, negated the federal character principle of inclusivity, equity, and fair play.

The Nigerian Constitution mandates all appointments to reflect the principle.

Mr Igbakpa said the principle aimed to prevent domination by some ethnic groups over others.

“The principle appeared to have been observed more in the breach,” he said, adding that appointments and recruitments into government agencies at the federal and state levels must be equitably spread.

According to him, implementing the principle will allay the fears of domination and denial by ethnic minorities and foster national unity.

The House, therefore, directed the Nigerian Navy to immediately suspend the upcoming pre-screening exercise for the shortlisted candidates to strengthen the federal character law and its enforcement.

Every Nigerian deserved to be treated with dignity and on their rights, irrespective of where they might be located physically in the country, the House added.

It directed that it should be furnished with details of all recruitments from 2014 to date, showing the geographical spread.

The House also mandated its committee overseeing the navy to investigate the exercise and recommend appropriate measures against similar constitutional violations in all government recruitment and report back within 12 weeks for further legislative action.