THE House of Representatives Committee Chairman on Maritime Safety, Education and Administration, Honourable Mohammed Umaru Bago has ordered the immediate sack of 83 workers of the Maritime Academy of Nigeria (MAN), Oron, Akwa Ibom State over recruitment irregularities observed in their 2016 employment processes.
Responding to the presentation by the Rector of the academy on Friday in Oron, Akwa Ibom State, Hon Bago said if the employment processes, after investigations, is found to be fraught with irregularities, their appointment should be terminated with immediate effect.
Bago said the 83 staff should be sacked if their employment did not go through due process.
“That is how touts are employed. Any employment that does not have approvals means there was never any employment in the first place.” He said
“It does not make sense to have 700 staff in an academy of just 300 cadets. That means the academy is over bloated. I will encourage you to right-size. Even if people don’t like it, it must still happen. Don’t be distracted. There is a triangle in MAN, Oron, the first is gossip. They will gossip about you, about every other person, don’t be distracted.
“The second triangle [in MAN] is witchcraft, occult people, pagans. Don’t fall into their trap. Don’t allow anybody intimidate you. The last triangle are the progressives. Those are the people you should work with as a Rector.”
Earlier in his presentation, the Rector of the academy, Commodore Duja Emma Effedua explained that the academy currently has a staff strength of 676 staff.
In his words, “For the academy, we have 676 staff now. However, when I took over as Rector, I was handed a staff strength of 714 workers which I was not okay with.
“We did headcount with not much success and had to do biometrics, where we now had 676 staff. For cadets, we have 336 students, but most of them will be graduating between August and October.
“On the issue of the Federal Character in employment processes, it happened a long time ago in this academy. But henceforth, the disadvantaged States will be given first priority in employment processes. We will have to slow down on those from Akwa Ibom. It was a deliberate mischief on the part of the past management of the academy, and it is only when it is balanced that it truly reflects a Federal recruitment pattern.
“Even as at 2016, 83 people were employed, and I am sure their employment did not go through the House Committee, Federal Civil Service or even the Ministry. 90 percent of the 83 people employed are from Akwa Ibom.
“The employment process is under investigation right now because there were lot of illegalities that were observed. “
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