Senate probes alleged secret recruitment in FIRS, NASDRA , NDLEA, others

The Senate Committee on Federal Character has summoned some federal agencies over alleged secret recruitment.

Some of the agencies have already been written and directed to appear before the panel on Monday.

Among the affected agencies are, the Federal Inland Revenue Service; National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency, National Space Research, and Development Agency and the National Open University.

Others are the Federal Civil Service Commission; the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital; the Rural Electrification Agency and the Nigerian Navy.

The Chairman of the committee, Senator  Danjuma La’ah, stated this on Friday during a meeting with other members of the panel.

He said the Committee will not tolerate imbalance in the ongoing recruitment of some government agencies.

He said,  “I have made it clear that we need to be thorough to show that we are not witch-hunting anybody or any organisation.

“We want to be sure that employment will not be lopsided, every geopolitical zone must benefit from the employment because that is needed to promote national unity.”

He said that the Committee will not hesitate to suspend any recruitment exercise that is conducted in contravention with approved guidelines.

He added that some agencies are currently recruiting and the Committee would need details of the exercise to ensure that nobody was shortchanged.

He said, “We will ensure that all sections of the country are adequately captured in all recruitment exercises to promote national unity and redress any imbalance in appointment to all levels of the government.

“We will also ensure the promotion and enforcement of the equitable and proportional distribution of infrastructural facilities and socioeconomic amenities among the federating units of Nigeria.

“Our mandate, therefore, is to stick strictly to these principles as outlined above and discourage executive and administrative arbitrariness.

“You are all aware that non-compliance with these principles is punishable under the law or act establishing the FCC.

“I want to categorically state here that the Committee will ensure enforcement of the provision in section 14 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

Some Senators, who also spoke at the meeting alleged that the Federal Character Commission was hoarding information from the Committee.

 THE PUNCH

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