Employment racketeering: Most qualified graduates denied jobs — Reps

By Gift Chapi-Odekina

The House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee investigating employment racketeering by Ministries Departments and Agencies, MDAs, and mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, said yesterday most qualified graduates were often denied jobs due to indoor employment by the MDAs.

The committee, which noted that such employment were done by the MDAs without advertisement, again warned the agencies against requesting and accepting waivers as a means to carry out indoor recruitment without public notices.

Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, who gave the warning during an investigative hearing of the committee yesterday, maintained that MDAs which recruit without advertisement contravened extant laws.

The Nigerian Agricultural Insurance Corporation, NAIC, in its appearance before the panel yesterday, explained that it was self-funded.

The agency further told members of the committee that they didn’t get a dime from the federal government, due  to the fact that they were a self-funded establishment.

The committee chairman commended  NAIC management team for  orderly arrangement of documents presented to his committee but advised the team to present nominal register containing list of all employees to the secretariat.

Again, NAIC told the lawmakers that it got waivers from the federal characters commission, FCC, to employ as it needed a few staff it could pay at the end of the month.

In his presentation, the Director General, Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa, DTCA, Ambassador Rabiu Dagari, informed the lawmakers that his directorate was a creation of presidential fiat, adding that his agency was currently under the ministry of foreign affairs.

Chairman of the committee observed that the agency had not place advert for job vacancy.

In his reaction, the NTDC boss said they received waiver while recruiting, noting that waivers was an excuse for people to cut corners in the country other relevant authority of its predicament.

Chairman of the commission, Victor Murako, also appealed to the lawmakers for assistance, adding that his commission was currently in a dilemma because of its inability to perform and carry out duties according to it mandates.