Nepotism and Recruitment in the Rivers State Civil Service Commission, 2015-2025

Ekpemandu; Rose; Reason Onya; PhD; Anyalebechi; Shammah Mahakwe PhD

doi:10.56201/jpslr.vol.12.no9.2026.pg118.134

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Nepotism and Recruitment in the Rivers State Civil Service Commission, 2015-2025

Ekpemandu, Rose, Reason Onya, PhD, Anyalebechi, Shammah Mahakwe PhD

Abstract

Recruitment serves as the cornerstone of human resource management in any institution, particularly within the public sector, where the quality and integrity of personnel significantly determine the efficiency of service delivery and governance outcomes. This study investigated the impact of nepotism on the recruitment process in the Rivers State Civil Service Commission between 2015 and 2025. The study was guided by two research questions and two null hypotheses, which examined the relationship between nepotism and recruitment fairness, transparency, merit-based selection, and recruitment efficiency. The study was anchored on Public Choice Theory. The study adopted a survey research design. The population comprised 40,667 civil servants and job applicants drawn from the Rivers State Civil Service Commission. The sample size of 400 respondents was determined using Taro Yamane’s formula (1967) at a 0.05 level of significance. Purposive sampling technique was employed to select respondents with relevant knowledge of recruitment processes, while proportional allocation ensured representation across senior staff (80), middle-level staff (180), junior staff (80), and job applicants (60). Data were collected using structured questionnaires and supplemented with secondary sources such as textbooks, journals, policy documents, and official reports. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages, and mean scores) and inferential statistics, specifically Pearson Product Moment Correlation and multiple regression analysis, with hypotheses tested at 0.05 significance level using SPSS. Findings revealed that nepotism significantly and negatively influenced recruitment fairness, transparency, merit-based selection, and recruitment efficiency. The results showed strong positive correlations between nepotistic practices and recruitment dysfunction, leading to rejection of all four null hypotheses. The study concluded that nepotism undermines meritocracy and institutional credibility in the Rivers State Civil Service. It recommended strict enforcement of merit-based recruitment policies, improved transparency mechanisms, and stronger accountability frameworks. The study contributed to knowledge by providing an integrated empirical model of recruitment dysfunction and by extending organizational justice and Weberian bureaucratic theories within the Nigerian public sector context.

Keywords

NepotismRecruitmentRivers State Civil Service Commission. E-ISSN 2504-883X P-ISSN 2695 2432

References

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Nepotism and Recruitment in the Rivers State Civil Service Commission, 2015-2025

Abstract

Keywords

References

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