Committee Chaorman, Rep. Gagdi said most agencies use the waiver on advertisement to run employment racketeering rings.
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The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee probing employment racketeering and gross mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies has mandated the federal government to scrap waivers of all kinds declaring it as fraudulent.
Members of the Committee took turns to express their displeasure about the policy on Wednesday when the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) and the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN) appeared before the Committee.
The Acting Director General of the Energy Commission of Nigeria (ECN), Sunday Olaide, in his submission, said the commission obtained a waiver to bypass employment advertisement.
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In a swift reaction, however, the Chairman of the Committee, Rep Yusuf Gagdi, argued that agencies hide under a waiver to commit employment-related fraud.
“Waiver is a fraud because agencies are hiding under a waiver to recruit their family members, friends, those that give them money, to sell slots, etcetera.
No agency has any reason not to advertise vacancies for recruitment, but every agency does not want to advertise. Why? You recruit 100, 200, 300, 900, 1000, splitting it into three instalments without going to the public to tell Nigerians that they have vacancies and are inviting qualified Nigerians to apply for such things.
So take it or leave it; agencies are hiding under waivers to perpetuate employment racketeering and other employment-related fraud. That is our position; because there is no agency that would appear here that would not give you a Certificate of Waiver. Most of the agencies would not bring even a one-paged advert in any national daily for its recruitment. So it is a fraud,” he said.
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Corroborating the Chairman’s position, Rep. Amobi Godwin Ogar, (LP, Abia) accused agencies of hiding under a waiver to cause job racketeering.
“From the report that you have submitted on the request for waiver, I noticed that not only your agency but majority of the agencies use this waiver on advertisement to cause this employment racketeering. For me, I think it is deliberate.
So I want to ask your Commission. Why refuse to comply with the setup rule to advertise recruitment with respect to the right of applicants? This will promote maximum participation and provision of a wider scope for the selection of the best. (This is) because when you keep requesting for waiver on advertisement, that means something is wrong somewhere, and that is the problem we are facing in this country.
I think it has come to the time we should be doing things right so that those that do not have people can get jobs because through this waiver, you will do your personal arrangement and deprive good Nigerians the opportunity to get jobs.
We will not take it kindly from agencies that refuse to honour our invitation. Even if you have constraints. We are human beings. You can come and appear before this Committee like you did to take permission for (an) extension of time to put together your submission and to get a new date to appear before this committee. We would not tolerate agencies that belittle the powers of the Nigerian people by refusing to honour the invitation of this committee. By tomorrow we would begin to face them one after another,” he said.
