This came to the fore as the ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu, paid a courtesy visit to the Acting Chairman of the FCC, Mr Kayode Aladele, on Thursday in Abuja.
Aliyu said that 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, where recruitment processes are manipulated for personal gain.
Aliyu decried the pressure on heads of 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 much as 94 employment slots within two years, while others were grossly underrepresented.
The ICPC boss 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, calling for synergy between the two agencies to ensure equitable representation and uphold integrity in the public service.
On his part, Aladele, welcomed the move and said it marked the first time both agencies were coming together to jointly tackle recruitment irregularities.
He said the Federal Character Commission is committed to ensuring proportional representation of all groups in public service, adding 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 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.
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.