TheCable

Ibrahim Gambari, the chief of staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, says federal character sums the strength of Nigeria.

The federal character is a system that ensures equal distribution of roles and appointments in Nigeria’s public service.

While receiving the senate committee on federal character and inter-governmental affairs at the state house on Sunday, Gambari said the diverse nature of Nigeria should serve as a catalyst for its greatness and not for its weakening.

“I know the seriousness with which you take your assignment and rightly so because you look at the subject matter of your mandate,” he said.

“Federal character in my view, sums up the strength of our country because the strength of our country lies in our diversity; diversity is not a weakness but strength because out of those plurality of our people we are working towards one nation and therefore the maintenance of the strength and the use of it for the fulfilment of the purposes of the state directives, policies, programs and projects of several administration is in your hands, in terms of oversight.

“Inter-governmental affairs is very important because no particular government, state, federal, local or entities of the three arms of government, the legislature, the executive and the judiciary is an island, rather, working together in the harmonious way can achieve the purposes which our various mandates have given us.

“So we’re very open, and I’m sure in terms of our interactions there may be issues that you want to raise, which we’re going to respond very positively.

“We operate within the budget of the State House and we try to manage our resources, very judiciously because that’s also one of the things that Mr. President insists on, the judicious use of scarce resources. We must always remember that all of us Senators, the State House staff, we serve only one constituency, which is the people of Nigeria.”