..Mandates All Federal MDAs to Advertise Job Vacancies
The Federal Character Commission(FCC) has dispelled misconceptions surrounding recruitments into federal ministries, departments and agencies(MDAs) as well as other establishments. It said that it has put in place measures to ensure that available jobs are made open to every Nigerian and not for those with godfathers.
To remove perceived secrecy in federal job recruitments, FCC said that it has already made it mandatory for MDAs to advertise vacant positions before employing people to fill the existing vacancies.
The Executive Chairman of FCC, Hon Hulayat Motunrayo Omidiran, made this known in a keynote address she delivered at the “Peter Eze Youth Connect 2026”, an empowerment programme held at the International Conference Centre Enugu.
The programme themed, “Beyond Quotas: Unlocking Opportunities for Enugu Youths Through the Federal Character Commission” was organised by, Hon Peter Eze, the Commissioner representing Enugu State at FCC.
Omidiran stated that at the Commission, “we have decided that more and more agencies should advertise when they have vacancies for employment”.
“The reason why we do this,” she explained “is because we feel that there is no area in Nigeria that you will not find people capable to do any job. You just need to search further and wider”.
The Chairman frowned at the practice in MDAs whereby jobs meant for a particular zone were shifted to another zone in the pretext that the concerned zone lacked qualified persons or that the people failed to apply for the vacant positions.
According to her, sharp practices in job placements in MDAs deprive Nigeria of the chance to recruit best minds into public service, adding that FCC has now widened opportunities for all Nigerians and was determined to keep the door open permanently.
Omidiran, who is also an accomplished football administrator, vowed that under her leadership, the FCC would ensure that public service jobs would no longer be reserved for select few, noting that “what we have done is to bring opportunities closer to everyone”.
“We do not want a closed gap(system of recruitment) whereby when we have opportunities, only a few people who also know influential people will be able to have the opportunities,” the Executive Chairman said.
She lauded Hon Eze for the Youth Connect programme, saying that “this initiative demonstrates commendable foresight and a genuine commitment to empowering young people through dialogue, knowledge sharing, networking and access to opportunities”.
The FCC boss advised Enugu youths to stop harbouring the notion that federal jobs, even when advertised, would eventually be given to select people, adding that they should always apply for public service jobs.
She said: “We are making that opportunity available to all in our country, I want to beg you to seize the moment. Do not say, ‘they are giving it to their children’. We are making it open for everybody to apply.
“Apply. That’s my number one message.
Apply. You never can tell”.
In his goodwill message, Governor Peter Mbah, who also represented by the Secretary to the State Government(SSG), Prof Chidiebere Onyia, commended Hon Eze for using his representation of Enugu at FCC to create opportunities for youths
“It is completely aligned with the policies of the government of Enugu State under Dr. Peter Mbah,” he said, adding that in recent months, we have seen young people from the South East gain access to technical and skill development opportunities”.
The SSG stated that the sponsorship of the Enugu government “young people who may never have imagined travelling to China for specialised training have had the opportunity to learn.
“They’ve also had the opportunity to experience another economy and acquire knowledge. And all these things have helped us to begin to think about this moment, this moment that we have gathered here (youth connect)”.
He emphasised that while quotas, appointments and recruitments remain important under the federal character principle, access is even more critical.
“A quota tells you what you are entitled to. Access shows you what is possible,” the SSG stated.
Explaining the motive behind his Youth Connect project, Hon Eze said that “the objective is to ensure that our youths are adequately informed about the numerous employment opportunities available in the federal public service and other government institutions”.
He further stated that his intention was to provide a platform “to encourage our youths to empower, create and recreate themselves for their personal advancement and the overall development of Enugu State”.
The the Enugu FCC Commissioner noted that FG has over 700 MDAs, Commissions, and other establishments that create job opportunities but because “vital information” were not readily available to Enugu youths, such opportunities slip by.
“Empowerment is not giving someone a handshake and taking a photograph. True empowerment is giving people the knowledge, skills, information, access and opportunities they need to stand on their own, restore their dignity and build a sustenable future,” the Commissioner said.
He lamented that “many of our youths, particularly job seekers, have missed or failed to utilise the numerous opportunities available to them” through FCC to secure meaningful employment.
“One of the major reasons for this unfortunate situation is the existence of generational fallacies, erroneous impressions and misleading assumption that advertised or publicized federal public service jobs have already been shared or given out even before they are advertised,” Eze said.
He stated that wrong perceptions about recruitments in the public service “is often promoted and propagated by people who ought to know better”, thereby discouraging qualified job seekers from applying for available opportunities and following it up.
“Our people must not disqualify themselves through fear, misinformation or the assumption that the outcome has already been predetermined,” the Enugu FCC Commissioner warned.
During the programme, experts exposed the participating Enugu youths to mentorship and scholarships, building of career pathways, finding, learning, and securing real job opportunities, as well as acquisition of employable skills.
