Jonas Ezieke, Abuja
The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on Allegation of Job Racketeering by Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDAs, Parastals and Tetiary Institutions and Mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System IPPIS on Monday grilled the former Desk Officer of the Federal Character Commission FCC on the discovery of N98.5 Million in his personal bank accounts by the House.
Kolo who is now works as staff of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria AMCON had been repeatedly summoned to appear before the probe panel by the Committee Chairman Hon.Yusuf Adamu Gagdi and the other committee members on the allegation of direct involvement of the Chairman of the Commission. Dr.Muiba Dankaka on job sales.
At the hearing, the Committee Chairman said that there is a deliberate effort by some of the invited persons to suffocate the committee because Haruna Kolo and other persons invited in connection with the allegation of job sales at FCC have deliberately refused to appear before it.
The House panel had querried the Chairman, Secretary and some commissioners of the agency on the whereabout of Haruna Kolo who worked as a Desk Officer of the agency before he suddenly disappeared from the office
Appearing before the panel Barr Mohammed Bello the Secretary to the Commission said that he was appointed in April 2017 and re-appointed under former President Muhammad Buhari adding that there were four other chairmen whose tenures of office expired before the present chairman was appointed.
On the disappearance of Haruna Kolo a civil servant without posting, he said that he actually signed his letter of transfer of service to the AMCON adding that it came from office of the Executive Chairman.
He said, “I signed the letter because Haruna Kolo requested for a withdrawal of service from the office of the Executive Chairman of the Commission”
He added that the commission upon the receipt of the allegation of job racketeering by the Haruna Kolo and some other staff set up a panel comprising of appointment, promotion and disciplinary committee to probe it.
On her own part, the Chairman of the Commission Dr.Muiba Dankaka said that she assumed office in the agency on May 7, 2022 five years after the key player on the allegation of job sale or racketeering Mr.Haruna Kolo.
However, midway into the hearing the accused Mr Haruna Kolo entered the Hall 0.34 House New Wing venue of the hearing and apologized to the probe panel for inability to appear on the past invitations
He told the Ad-hoc Committee that he transfered his services from the Federal Character Commission FCC to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria AMCON because his salary was poor as he earned N110,000 while he earns N400,000 in his new office monthly.
On allegation of discovery of N98.5 million into his private bank account allegedly through payments by job seekers, he said he was instructed by the Chairman to collect monies from job seekers and he remitted the monies collected to her.
He said that the chairman instructed him to go to the office of the Accountant-General of the Federation to ensure that no correspondence form the FCC to the office is honoured except from her office
He also admitted that a total of twenty five persons who were engaged by the commission as new staff paid one million naira to his account and he sent the money withdrawn with Point of Sale POS system to the Commission’s chief executive officer.
But the Executive Chairman Dr Muiba Dankaka who was equally accused by other commissioners from Osun, Nasarawa, Lagos, Enugu and Delta of some other misdeed including character assassination and injustice said that she is innocent of the allegations.
The Committee Chairman Hon.Gagdi in his ruling said that the Committee would have issued a warrant of arrest on Haruna Kolo and other persons alleged to be involved in job racketeering if he failed to come.
He pledges to ensure fairness to all the parties and added that the amount of money said to be in the bank account of the key player in the matter under investigation is in quite huge and in clear violation of extant regulation of the nation’s civil service.
Some other Ad-hoc Committee members as Hon Dominic Okafor, Mohammed Ciroma and Godwin Ogar who asked questions on the issue said that the allegations against the chairman and other officials are too weighty and nauseating.
