The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has faulted the recent recruitment by paramilitary organisations in the country, saying it lacked federal character.
Prof. Ishaq Akintola, MURIC Director, said this in a statement on Friday in Lagos.
“The list of successful candidates in the 2019/2021 Replacement and Recruitment Supplementary exercise of the Civil Defence Corps, Correctional Service (NCS), Fire and Immigration Services Board (CDIPB) is being circulated in the media.
“The lopsided nature of the recruitment list speaks volume of official corruption in the system capable of denying Nigeria the services of best hands in country.
“Out of 411 names of successful candidates that appeared on the list, only five were in the Sokoto State column.
“As if that is not enough, a closer look at the names spring another surprise,” he said.
Akintola added: “None of the names in Sokoto column appears to have come from the state by origin, the names are Abdurrazaq Adinoyi, Y, Mercy Chukwukeru, Nwauzor Peace, Ezema Emeka and Umar Tijani.
“It is just natural that this incident will raise public curiosity particularly when some are making an issue out of the federal character principle and leveraging on it as evidence in support of their agitations.
“But here we have a case that looks very much like relegation by substitution. There is no iota of doubt that indigenes of Sokoto may have been short-changed in this arrangement.
“Why was there no single Sokoto indigene among the five by virtue of origin of the names.”
He frowned at the infraction and demanded that the board provide explanations for the glaring anomaly without delay, to avoid breeding bad blood.
Akintola said that it was not impossible that the list was fake.
“If that was so, the board must quickly disown it and make the authentic list public.(NAN)