The agency responsible for investigating allegations of maladministration and punishing offending career officers in the executive is the?

Step 1: Analyze the question The question asks which agency investigates allegations of maladministration (misconduct, abuse of office, poor administration) and punishes erring career officers (civil servants) in the executive arm of government.

Step 2: Explain the concept Career officers are permanent, non-political staff of the executive, that is, civil servants. In Nigeria, the Civil Service Commission (federal and state) is responsible for:

• Appointing, promoting, and transferring civil servants
• Exercising disciplinary control, including investigating misconduct and punishing offenders (through dismissal, demotion, or suspension)

Step 3: Check each option

• A. Federal Character Commission: Ensures fair representation of all states and ethnic groups in appointments. It does not handle discipline.
• B. Ethics Commission: Not a standard body in the Nigerian executive for disciplining career officers. Ethics and anti-corruption issues are dealt with by bodies like the Code of Conduct Bureau, ICPC and EFCC.
• C. Judicial Commission: Relates to the judiciary (for example, the National Judicial Council), not career officers in the executive.
• D. Public/Civil Service Commission: Has the power to discipline civil servants. This matches the question.

Step 4: Answer The correct option is D, public/civil service commission.

Exam tip: Link keywords to institutions:

• "Career officers / civil servants + discipline" → Civil Service Commission
• "Fair representation" → Federal Character Commission
• "Judges" → Judicial Service Commission / NJC
• "Asset declaration" → Code of Conduct Bureau