The Registrar of the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board (JAMB), Professor Is-haq Oloyede, has told the House of Representatives ad-hoc investigating employment racketeering by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies and mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) why he employed 300 staff without advertising.
TrackNews reported last week that no fewer than 36 federal Ministries, Department, and Agencies (MDAs) refused to appear before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating an alleged job racketeering and mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) last Tuesday It was gathered that the committee chairman, Yusuf Gagdi, berated the agencies for their failure to show up, saying they were not respectful of constituted authority.
This platform reported last Monday that a former Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) desk officer, Haruna Kolo, openly admitted to collecting bribes in exchange for promises of jobs on behalf of the embattled Federal Character Commission (FCC) chairman, Farida Dankaka.
The IPPIS official revealed how he collected over N75 million through his personal Eco Bank account and paid it in cash to the FCC Chairman in several installments based on the instruction from her. The committee chairman had faulted the agencies, saying they were applying for waivers due to their recruitment without advertising the same, adding that such is usually used to perpetrate fraud. Gagdi further pointed out that some MDAs went to recruit about 150 instead of the stipulated 100 staff.
However, making a case for himself, the JAMB boss who appeared before the House of Representatives on Monday said his decision to employ 300 staff was to fill the spaces of those who have retired. He said JAMB got a waiver from the relevant agencies to fill existing vacancies. Oloyede said, “We used the waiver because we believe the exigency of the time and the nature of our work deserved it. If we were to advertise for the 300, we wouldn’t have been able to meet up with what we needed them for.
“I believe very strongly that it was very necessary at that time that we recruited, and I assure you that we did not surcharge those who were qualified.” In his response, Gagdi blamed the examination body of short changing Nigerians for not allowing them to apply for the jobs when they were vacant. Referring to the documents available to the probe panel, he noted that JAMB had filled job vacancies without due process, including shortlisting and interview of job seekers.
He disclosed that the examination body relied on waivers for staff recruitment without adhering to the provisions of the law on non-engagement of more than 100 staff annually. He further said recruiting about 300 staff through waiver violates the federal character principle, adding that a waiver is to be granted only if an agency is collapsing.
“What makes you think advertising wouldn’t have been better? You have the capacity to screen the people that apply to get better hands to do those jobs. I am asking this because we are most interested in correcting the fraud associated with waivers,” Gagdi queried.
