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The latest probe launched into allegations of employment fraud within the civil service amidst a ban on employment that was put in place by the administration of the previous President, Muhammadu Buhari, has uncovered extra ills within the nation’s troubled ministries, departments and businesses, DEBORAH TOLU-KOLAWOLE writes
In Might 2020, throughout the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, former President Muhammadu Buhari positioned an embargo on employment within the ministries, departments, and businesses of the Federal Authorities.
In accordance with a memo signed by the Workplace of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, the suspension of recruitment by Buhari was a results of the results of the coronavirus pandemic on the income projection of the Federal Authorities. It was, nonetheless, famous that employment waivers could be given to make sure that lifeless and retired staff have been changed.
Earlier in 2017, Buhari positioned an analogous ban on recent recruitment into the general public sector which based on him would assist handle the rising personnel expenditure that was anticipated to rise to 12 % in 2018.
To additional guarantee enough monitoring of the ban, the Federal Authorities ensured that each one civil servants have been enlisted within the Built-in Payroll and Personnel Info System extensively often called the IPPIS.
Talking on the impacts of the IPPIS not too long ago, the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan, famous that the IPPIS had continued to help within the detection of civil servants with pretend employment letters. In truth, throughout a media chat with journalists throughout the 2023 civil service week, the chief civil servant famous that the IPPIS helped to detect civil servants with inflated salaries.
“ Previous to the introduction of the present mechanisms put in place to drive the implementation of the IPPIS, the system was bedeviled with appreciable leakages and wastes in addition to the incessant infiltration of ghost staff and many others,” she mentioned.
Nevertheless, amidst reforms, employment bans, and the introduction of mechanisms and employment waivers, The PUNCH reviews that ghost staff and racketeering of jobs have continued to thrive within the civil service.
Just lately, Haruna Kolo, an ex-aide to the Chairperson of the Federal Character Fee, Muheeba Dankaka, confessed to promoting federal employment slots to job seekers on the directives of his former boss.
Kolo made the confession whereas testifying earlier than a Home of Representatives advert hoc committee investigating job racketeering at ministries, departments, and businesses.
In his testimony, Kolo alleged that Dankaka arrange a job racketeering ring, gathering cash from job seekers.
He acknowledged that to keep away from digital trails, Mrs Dankaka insisted on money solely.
“On the allegations of job racketeering, the FCC Chairman instructed me to liaise with one Mr Shehu who’s a private driver and PA to the Taraba State commissioner. As a desk officer, I’m accountable to take whoever is employed to the IPPIS for capturing. Nobody can go there with no letter from the chairman or Human Useful resource officer of the FCC.
“When she got here, she wrote a letter to the Accountant Common instructing that no letter from FCC must be honoured besides she indicators the letter. So every time there was new employment, she signed, gave it to me and I’d take it to the Accountant Common’s workplace for capturing.
“Shehu is the one which introduced those that paid cash to my account for the job, some paid N1m others N1.5m all to my private account, my Eco checking account. She requested me to offer money to her which I did via POS so there is no such thing as a proof of switch or something,” he mentioned.
Kolo mentioned the chairperson compensated him, alongside three others, with a job on the Asset Administration Firm of Nigeria for the assignments he carried out. He mentioned one of many beneficiaries is a sibling of Mrs Dankaka.
In the mean time, Dankaka is going through allegations of corruption, nepotism, and highheadedness within the dealing with of the fee. Many of the allegations are coming from commissioners within the fee.
Earlier, some commissioners alleged that Dankaka had demanded a proportion of employment slots from MDAs although she denied the declare, stating that it was a case of “corruption preventing again”.
In her Defence, Dankaka mentioned her transfer to cease the sale of job slots on the fee on her assumption of workplace didn’t go down properly with among the commissioners.
She mentioned, “Earlier than I got here right here, I’ve made my identify. I’ve made my cash. Let me let you know a small story. A few of them (commissioners) have explanation why they’re attacking me. After I first got here in, most of them have been my shut folks. All of them have been all the time in my workplace, however what they wished me to do I informed them I can not do it.
“I’m a really quiet particular person and I hold sure secrets and techniques as govt chairman. I’ve to swallow sure issues and go away all the things within the arms of God. Earlier than I got here to this place, they have been promoting (job) slots. The place was like a market. And you will discover out from the folks dwelling in Abuja if I’m mendacity.
“After I got here in, I met all of the commissioners and informed them I don’t need something that may destroy me and my household. All of them can bear me witness.”
The chairperson alleged {that a} commissioner purchased a landed property and promised the vendor to pay for it with job slots, however she thwarted the plan.
In the meantime, the Chairman of the Home Investigative panel, Yusuf Gagdi famous that no company has to this point been indicted.
“This committee has not indicted the registrar of JAMB and now we have not indicted any establishment. You may solely say that after we submit our report.
“We had an excellent interplay with him and no one ought to preempt the choice of this committee to say that anyone is defective.”
No fewer than 40 ministries, departments, and businesses have to this point been invited by the Chairman of the Home advert hoc committee investigating employment racketeering within the civil service, Yusuf Gagdi, following the confessions of Kolo.
However Gagdi famous that regardless of the invitation prolonged to the MDAs, solely 4 adhered.
“Most of those businesses usually are not respectful of constituted authority. We’re imagined to have the presence of 40 businesses however solely 4 are right here,” Gagdi mentioned whereas commenting on the failure of MDAs to point out as much as the investigative listening to which was held on August 9, 2023.
Sharing extra gentle on among the “lopsided“employment occurring in some MDAs, Gagdi talked about the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board.
In accordance with the lawmaker, who challenged the Registrar of JAMB, Prof. Ishaq Oloyede, over 300 people recruited workers members of JAMB with no public commercial of the job vacancies.
Gagdi who demanded that the company instantly submits to the committee, the record of all individuals employed between 2015- 2023, additionally accused JAMB of short-changing the nation, failing to avail Nigerians the chance to use when the roles have been vacant.
He mentioned that from the paperwork obtainable to the probe panel, the examination physique had merely crammed job vacancies with out due course of together with short-listing and interview of job seekers. He added that the examination physique relied on waivers for workers recruitment with out adhering to the provisions of the regulation on the non-engagement of greater than 100 workers members yearly.
He additional added that recruiting about 300 workers via waiver violates the federal character precept, including {that a} waiver is to be granted provided that an company is collapsing.
“What makes you assume promoting wouldn’t have been higher? You could have the capability to display the people who apply to get higher arms to do these jobs. I’m asking this as a result of we’re most desirous about correcting the fraud related to waivers,” he mentioned.
Giving his defence, Oloyede mentioned, “ “We used the waiver as a result of we imagine the exigency of the time and the character of our work deserves it. If we’re to promote for the 300, we wouldn’t be capable of meet up with what we would have liked them for.
“I imagine very strongly that it was very very essential at the moment that we recruited and I guarantee you that we didn’t shortchange those that are certified,”
In 2022, The PUNCH reported how a whistleblower was nearly sacked from a Federal Authorities ministry following his publicity of employment racketeering within the ministry. Additionally in 2022, there have been a collection of petitions to the Senate from aggrieved job seekers, alleging that the Niger Delta Growth Fee administration didn’t permit them to hold out any documentation regardless of issuing them letters of employment. One of many petitions, signed by a former deputy governor of Ondo State, Agboola Ajayi, alleged that employment within the interventionist company was offered for varied quantities relying on the monetary power of the applicant’s household.
The Accountant Common of the Federation, Toyin Madein, throughout the investigative listening to mentioned her workplace was working exhausting to fish out ghost staff, who existed within the system earlier than the introduction of the Built-in Payroll and Personnel Info System.
Denying allegations that her workplace was engaged within the enrolment of ghost staff for private positive aspects, she mentioned her workplace was working exhausting to handle issues with the IPPIS. “Having realised that it is a system that must be reviewed, on my assumption of responsibility, I met a collection of points round IPPIS and that made me organise stakeholders with all of the service suppliers across the IPPIS, the place the service suppliers got here and made shows, questions have been requested.
“The stakeholders’ assembly ran for 2 weeks the place all of the service suppliers have been scheduled for every day and got here with their technical arms whereas the technical workforce of the OAGF was additionally on the bottom the place we have been discussing a collection of points concerning the system”, she mentioned.
The Director of the IPPIS, Emma Deko, alleged that some universities have been sending extra names than required to be captured on the system. “We’re all conscious of the difficulty of ASUU. We have been informed to enroll them and the enrolment didn’t move via the conventional course of as a result of it was an advert hoc factor. It was an emergency. They refused to come back on board.
“However when the federal government persuaded them to come back on, we have been requested to enroll them with out going via the method. So I need to place on report that a few of them got numbers to enroll, to enroll individuals who have been on their payroll previous to that point.”
The probe by the Home continues because the lawmakers have vowed to get to the basis of the matter.
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