Kano Assembly Alleges North’s Marginalisation in Customs Recruitment

The Kano State House of Assembly has condemned the recent Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) cadet recruitment exercise, alleging gross injustice and marginalisation of northern states in the process.

The lawmakers, during plenary yesterday, described the recruitment as a charade that violated the principles of federal character and called for its total cancellation.

Presenting a motion of urgent public importance, the majority leader, Hon. Lawan Hussaini Dala, said the distribution of the 1,785 recruitment slots showed overwhelming bias in favour of the South, particularly the South-West.
According to him, Lagos alone got 207 slots, Ogun 145, Ondo 132, Osun 127, Oyo 108, and Ekiti 93 — a total of 812 slots, representing nearly half of all recruits. In contrast, he noted, the entire North-West region received only about seven percent, with Kano getting 31, Katsina 20, Jigawa 18, and Zamfara 16.

“The entire northern region was left with just 651 slots. If we keep quiet, our people will continue to be cheated. The Nigeria Customs Service will soon become an institution belonging to one region,” Dala warned.

He urged the House to officially communicate its position to the Federal Character Commission (FCC), National Assembly, and NCS, demanding a review of the recruitment list to reflect fairness, equity, and inclusivity.

Other lawmakers supported the motion, stressing that the imbalance could deepen regional mistrust and threaten national unity. They also called on northern legislators at the National Assembly to take urgent steps to correct the anomaly.

Presiding over the session, Speaker Jibril Ismail Falgore commended Dala for what he described as a patriotic move, directing the relevant House committee to investigate the recruitment figures.

The House unanimously adopted the motion and urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to cancel the recruitment exercise in the interest of fairness, justice, and national cohesion.