Social Equity and Representative Bureaucracy: The Case of Nigeria's Federal Character Principle

Abstract

This paper investigates the attitudes of public servants toward government-mandated equity-focused public sector hiring. We study this in the context of the Federal Character Principle (FCP) in Nigeria, which exists to ensure ethnic, gender, and religious representation in the federal civil service. Utilizing in-depth interviews of mid-level employees in select ministries, we ask: (1) do Nigerian public servants value the FCP? (2) do they experience a sense of diversity and inclusion within their agencies that they associate with the FCP? (3) how is FCP implementation related to the perception of organizational legitimacy? We find that civil servants see the FCP as a valuable policy, but they express concerns for its potential effects on civil servant quality and effectiveness. Respondents highlight the largely unsuccessful policy implementation, but trust the leadership of organizations considered more representative. Given the results, we discuss balance in the pursuit of public administration pillars—efficiency, economy, effectiveness, and equity.