BY TIMOTHY AGBOR, OSOGBO
Some groups have alleged that most commissioners representing different states at the Federal Character Commission have turned the agency into a marketplace and have been selling job slots to Nigerians.
Recall that FCC chairperson, Muheeba Dankaka was accused by some of the agency’s commissioners of impropriety and nepotism at the resumed hearing of the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating job racketeering at federal establishments.
The committee is investigating ministries, departments, agencies, parastatals, and tertiary institutions on personnel recruitment, employment racketeering, and the mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.
Abdulrazak Adeoye, the commissioner representing Osun State, accused Dankaka of removing people’s names from the payroll and replacing them with others.
The agency’s commissioner representing Delta State, Moses Anaughe and Mamman Alakaye, the commissioner from Nasarawa State, also made similar accusations against Dankaka.
However, socio-political groups under the aegis of Nigerian Citizens Action Group, said commissioners representing different states at FCC are also guilty of job racketeering at the commission.
The groups exonerated Dankaka of having any hands in shady deals in the commission.
A release signed by Salahudeen Lukman, on behalf of NCAG, also pointed accusing fingers at the commissioner representing Lagos State at the federal executive agency, Abdulwasiu Kayode Bawa-Allah, saying the commissioner wrote a judge and head of paramilitary agency, and requested for job slots to be sold.
“Our in-depth and independent investigation revealed Mr. Abdulwasiu Kayode Bawa-Allah, the Lagos Federal Commissioner at FCC wrote to request for job slots targeted to be sold to Nigerians from numerous agencies, ministries and departments of Federal Government without authority, approval or consent of the Federal Character commission management board.
“Mr. Kayode should come forward to deny he didn’t write the Chief Judge of Federal High Court Abuja, on the 5th of July, 2021 and the Comptroller General of Nigerian Custom Service (NCS) on 20th of June, 2022 requesting illegal and unauthorized job slots.
“Nigerians will assume Mr. Kayode is a man of integrity or a patriotic citizen when he started speaking on top of his voice, raising false alarm against the chairperson of the FCC, but those who know the truth know that his wolf cry is laced with greed and disgust he feels because the FCC Chairperson has blocked the dirty and shady job racketeering business of the dubious and fraudulent Lagos Commissioner at FCC.
“We challenge Mr. Kayode to debunk this fact or provide a section of FCC act that empowers him as Federal Commissioner to write MDAs for such, we shall make public the evidence as well furnish National Assembly investigation committee with the same,” the group claimed.
Salahudeen added that, “Like we have pledged to dig further the dirty dealings of corruption personified federal commissioners whose fraudulent dealing have been hindered by the new executives led by Muheeba Dankaka, hence the attempt to twist the narrative to incite the public against the chairperson with allegations of job racketeering in the commission.
“Nigerians will wonder how a corporate Federal Government Commission under the presidency with a defined bureaucratic and established management and official communication channel like the FCC, having her state commissioners writing to ministries, agencies and departments requesting job slots without the consent of the Commission Chairperson. Some even go as far as requesting ridiculous favour from these ministries/agencies/ departments.”
Similarly, a coalition of professionals and elder statesmen from Northern Nigeria, Arewa Professional Group, alleged the commissioners of FCC of ethnic profiling, gender abuse, and blackmail against Dankaka.
This was contained in a statement by the national coordinator of APG, Umar Bala Abdulkadir, and secretary, Nazanmi Dakingari, in Abuja.
The APG called for a professional approach to running the agency and reaffirmed its confidence in Dankaka’s ability to serve diligently in her role.
