Human Rights Commission Backs Law to Hold Public Officials Accountable Through Shared Public Services

The Nigeria Chapter of the International Human Rights Commission – Relief Fund Trust (IHRC-RFT) has endorsed a legislative proposal put forward by Hon. Amobi Godwin Ogah, member representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency. The bill seeks to mandate that all government officials enroll their children in public schools and receive healthcare exclusively from public hospitals.

In a press release signed by the Country Director, Ambassador Abdullahi Bakoji Adamu, the Commission commended the initiative as long overdue and vital for restoring accountability within Nigeria’s public sector. It noted that the current trend where those entrusted with public institutions actively avoid them has led to widespread dysfunction. “When a public official shuns the very system, they are supposed to maintain, there is little incentive to improve it,” the statement said.

IHRC-RFT argued that the proposed legislation would close the widening gap between leaders and citizens by compelling officeholders to rely on the same education and healthcare systems as ordinary Nigerians. Such exposure, the Commission stressed, would force urgent reforms and foster a culture of equity and responsiveness in governance.

Drawing connections to international human rights norms, the organization referenced Articles 25, 26, and 21 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which speak to the rights to health, education, and representative governance. These values, it argued, must reflect not only in policy but in the daily experiences of those in power.

The Commission urged the National Assembly to support the bill without hesitation, describing it as a crucial move toward inclusive leadership. “Public service should not exempt leaders from the public experience,” the statement concluded. “Only when leaders live among the people, not above them, can we truly build a fair and functional society.”