Ad-hoc Committee of the House of Representatives probing allegations of employment racketeering and gross mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System IPPIS, on Thursday, threatened to recommend sanctions to the executive arm of government on some erring Personnel by Ministries, Departments and Agencies MDAs of the Federal Government for flouting the constitutional federal character provision in their recruitment and staff placement.
Chairman of the Committee Hon. Yusuf Gagdi made the pronouncement during the ongoing investigative hearing on the matter wherein he said that many of the government agencies had grossly flouted the provision of the law on the inclusion of persons from all the six geo-political zones in employment.
The Committee had grilled the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute for Trypanosomiasis and Onchocerciasis Research, Dr Joseph Ajakaiye and the Registrar of Nigeria Council for Food Science and Technology, Mrs Veronica Eze on their agencies’ lopsided staff recruitment where they were all faulted.
Ajakaiye who was grilled on the nominal role of staff, sequence of employment and sundry issues said that the agency was established in 2019 through an Act of the parliament.
He further explained that there were 65 new personnel that were engaged by the agency and captured by the IPPIS platform for payment of salaries and other emoluments.
He added that the agency got approval from the Head of Service of the Federation and compliance certificate from the Federal Character Commission.
But the Committee chairman and other members from the documents picked holes in the issue of geo-political spread of the staffers saying that the agency did not comply with the constitutional provision on federal character.
Also in her presentation, the Registrar, Nigeria Council of Food Science and Technology Mrs Veronica Eze said that the agency only carried out recruitment exercises in 2022.
She told the House panel that the agency was created in 2019 and they got approval from the Head of Service of the Federation and the compliance certificate from the Federal Character Commission FCC to employ the staff.
However, the Committee Chairman Hon.Gagdi and Hon. Oluwole Oke who observed that the agency only recruited only persons from four geo-political zones asked the Chief Executive Officers to prepare their nominal roll of staff on a state-by-state basis.
Gagdi said that the Federal Character Commission FCC which is supposed to sanction the lopsided employment in government agencies is aiding it by issuing these agencies compliance certificates on their recruitments.
He added that the Committee would not hesitate to recommend sanctions to the executive arm of government on the defaulting agencies in their report For ratification.
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