Federal character should also include age, religion, and gender — House of Reps. Speaker

Speaker of the house of representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has stated that federal character should also include age, religion, gender, and not just ethnicity.

 

He said this while speaking at an event in Abuja on Saturday, October 31. He also called for a legal framework that will change the federal character principle for appointments in the country’s constitution as the idea of making such appointments based on states of origin or religion has not helped the development of the country. 

 

“I think we should consider an amendment in the constitution to the definition of federal character, because when we talk about federal character within the context of appointments, infrastructure and the rest of it in the constitution, federal character, as it is, is limited to where you are from, like your ethnicity. 

I think it’s time that we expand the definition of federal character because the character of a nation is not just based on your tribe. It’s based on religion; it’s based on where you are from; it’s based on your sex; it’s based on your age.

So when you are talking about federal character, you look at all those things and they are what make up the federal character. You talk about so so percentage of women, so so percentage of youth; that is the true meaning of federal and I think that is what should be reflected in the constitution,” he said.