By Victor Osula, Abuja
The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) has dismissed allegations of breaching the federal character principle during its 2025 promotion exercise for eligible staff across all cadre.
The Commission stressed that the exercise was conducted strictly in line with its commitment to integrity, fairness, and the need to maintain a pool of competent professionals to drive national objectives.
The clarification follows a petition by some aggrieved staff to the National Assembly, the Federal Civil Service Commission (FCSC), and the Federal Character Commission (FCC), accusing the telecoms regulator of violating Sections 14(3) and 14(4) of the Constitution, which mandate fair representation across states and geopolitical zones in public institutions.
The petitioners alleged that the promotion exercise was skewed, claiming that eight out of nine staff promoted were from the Northern region, while only one came from the South-West.
They also claimed that candidates from the South-South and South-East geopolitical zones, despite meeting the 60% pass mark stipulated in the 2021 Public Service Rules, were sidelined.
According to them, “Certain states and zones have been grossly underrepresented or entirely excluded, while others are overrepresented, leading to an unconstitutional imbalance that undermines national unity and equity.”
They further alleged that candidates had to “select questions from a basket by lucky-dip” during the examination.
However, the NCC, while responding to the claims, maintained that the promotion process was conducted strictly in accordance with an established framework and outlined procedures.
“The promotion exercise for eligible staff was guided by a clear, objective scoring system communicated before the exams, with predetermined weightings assigned to each component,” the Commission said.
It emphasised that all evaluations were conducted transparently and in strict adherence to the scoring framework, with panels comprising credible management staff drawn from all six geopolitical zones, as well as independent external members and representatives from the Federal Character Commission providing oversight.
“In line with the Public Service Rules, each cadre had a defined number of vacancies. Staff who either did not meet the cut-off mark or who passed but for whom no vacancies existed could not be promoted,” the statement added.
The Commission noted that since the conclusion of the exercise, all participants had received a detailed breakdown of their scores to enable them to identify areas for improvement ahead of future promotion opportunities.
It further encouraged staff with concerns to liaise with the Human Capital Department for clarification.
