PUBLIC COMPLAINTS COMMISSION AS AN INSTRUMENT FOR REDRESSING ADMINISTRATIVE INJUSTICE IN NIGERIA. AN ANALYSIS

posted on August 22, 2019

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Rigid Bureaucracy, administrative excesses, abuse of office and due process violation of even the most basic human rights, unwarranted, aggression, oppression, repression, and suppression by those in the corridors of power and their surrogates and collaborators, high- handedness and insensitivity by self–perceived super bureaucrats and tin- gods- even in the face of demonstrable incompetence- corruption, arbitrary dismissals, terminations and retirements. Unbridled, unprincipled and flagrant violations of lawfully laid down rules and regulations and a myriad of excesses are very common daily occurrences in human and interactions. They are as old as the history of homosapian can be remembered and still do exist at present a greater or lesser extent in any society and enterprises.

In the African Administrative, social and other milieu these excesses can be very gross and traumatic, especially for subordinates and the less privileges and down-trodden of the society observance of human rights is a corollary function of social Justice and equity both of which are important desideratum of a peaceful, harmonies and stable social order. Policies designed to check or redress the above canker worm that militate against an equitable social order and stability are necessary unperative in any civilized society.

Except the above can be assured and guaranteed, peace and harmony, ‘9d indeed civilization, can slide into chaos and anarchy. The vesting of such policies and the application of the instruments pertaining thereto, and arising from the policies, must be divulged on trust worthy, humane and dispassionate bodies’ personalities etc. The Public Complaints Commission (The Nigeria type of Ombudsman) was established with a mandate to fill these voids.

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

During the colonial rule in Nigeria, the colonial administrators recruited indigenous educated citizens to serve in the lower ranks of its administrative system as clear, technical staff and other auxillary staff. The disparity in the pay system and services conditions between the white colonial staff and their Nigeria counterparts soon gave rise to agitation for improved working conditions.

This in turn resulted in the colonial master striking back with sanctions against the indigenous owners who were identified as ring leaders of the worker group. These people were made to suffer a lot of social injustice ranging from unjustly relieving them of their duties without adequate compensation to other type of maltreatment.

Nigeria attained independence from British colonial rule in 1960. in the face depending crises of the word capitalist economy, the struggle by workers for better working condition reached an alarming rate whereby resulting in Government adaptation of every authoritarian and fascist tendencies in order to further suppress worker agitative tendencies.

By the mid-seventies, military rule in Nigeria had become well entrenched, but which we lately understood to be progressively worse and dictorial yet certain anathemic to civilized society. Arising from the maladies mentioned in the introduction, a cascading decadence had become noticeable in the system while morale among servants had sunken to its lowest ebb. The seeming need to conceal it’s dictatorial excesses and operate same from beneath the façade of democratic norms led to the setting up of the Udoji Commission, by the then military Government. To review the system and make recommendations.

However, outranged by an inept and moribund civil service system, the commission recommended, among others, the setting up of an Ombudsman institution in Nigeria.

True to the recommendation, the public complaints commission was set up as an independent arbiter by the then federal military government. It was established by Decree No 31 of 16^th October 1975 and amended by Decree No 21 of 31^st May, 1979. in the same year, 1979, the public complaints commission Decree was enshrined in the constitution of the Federal republic of Nigeria, under section 274 during General Obasanjo’s Regime before handing over to the democratic interregnum of the Shagari era or the second Republic. During General Babangida’s Regime, there was a National Assembly or what was know as the third Republic which, in 1990 encoded all important and relevant military Decrees into Acts of the National Assembly. Some amendments were made to Decree No 31 of 1975 before it was an Act of the National Assembly, which was codified as chapter 377 (written in legal terms as cap . 377) law of the federation of 1990 edition (or cap. 377 LFN, 1990).

It comparison is drawn from Decree No 31 of 1975 with cap 377 LFN, 1990 the differences or changes is easily noticed for clarity sake the instrument or law establishing the public complaints commission in Nigeria is better referred to now as cap .LFN 1990 and not anymore Decree No 31 of 1975 ( which contents still remain valid all the same).

The law now also from part of the 1999 constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria under section 315. cap 377 LFN, 1990 consists of 12 sections. Section 1 deals with the establishment and tenure of office of the chief and other commissioners, section 3 is on appointment and tenure of other staff; section 4 is the application of the pension Act while section 5 spells out the power and duties of the commission. Restrictions; recommendation after investigation; immunity from legal process; interpretation and short titles are treated in sections 6, 7,8,9,10,11, and 12 respectively. According to Ngwoke (1997:5) the activities of public Administration have become comprehensive and the power of bureaucracy is so great that the numbers of the oppressed are increasing at an alarming rate in the society. There are more problem which impede the speedy dispensation of complaints brought before the commission.

According to Obasi (1997:7) one of the problems of the commission has been poor or limited public knowledge of the existence, functions and modus operandi of the commission.

According to Onyiochi (1998):4), the problem of the section would not have arisen if government officials react favourably to the commission’s recommendation. Rather, Government officials make fun of the Commission because the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) law is silent on the issue of section.

Despite all odds the Commission have been able to live up to the expectation of the founding Fathers or filled the void for I the reason of its formation in the redressing of administrative in injustice and providing succor to the pressed and aggrieved members of the society.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

The Commission cannot enforce its decision and recommendation. These are left to the Government to decide upon.

The Commission could not reverse or probe the decisions or actions of the court the president, Governors, Ministers, Commissioners, Judge or such other Government Officials in top sensitive political positions.
The Commission could not compel people to appear before it and this may limit the extent of its Thoroughness in such cases. Fund, in respect of allocations, mostly funds allocated to the commission for its operations over the year have been grossly inadequate.
The emphasis on state security and national interest limits the access of the Ombudsman to vital records, information and document.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY