Reps Speaks On Extortion Allegations Against IPPIS
Hon. Yusuf Gagdi, The Chairman of the House of Representatives Ad Hoc Committee investigating employment racketeering in Federal Government’s ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), has said there are allegations of extortion against officials of the Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS).
The chairman said the officials allegedly refused to capture into the government payroll workers who have been duly employed.
Gagdi said this when the Director General of the Directorate for Technical Cooperation in Africa (DTCA), Ambassador Rabiu Dagari, said government agencies resorted to waiver for recruitment to cut corners and evade due process.
The chairman and members of the committee frowned at government agencies that resorted to waiver in conducting job recruitments while denying qualified Nigerians the opportunity to participate in such recruitments.
Drawing the attention of the Desk Officer of the payment platform at the committee hearing to the failure of the agency to capture some workers of the Directorate of Technical Cooperation in Africa on the payroll, Gagdi said: “IPPIS, we have allegations that you recollect 10 per cent from agencies for recruitment.
“The next agency we will put before us here is IPPIS. Have you taken note of the fact that they wrote to you concerning the recruitment they did?”
“They have a balance of resources as a result of retirement and other reasons. The money is always said to have ‘absconded’ and it does not return to treasury.
“They wrote two letters to IPPIS to capture the people that they followed due process in recruiting and you refused. There are allegations that you go to agencies to ask for money before you capture the people you want to capture. Yet, the ones that are legitimately employed will not be captured.
“If an agency wrote to IPPIS to capture people that were recruited, it means that the employment is legitimate. Otherwise, the head of the agency will not be writing to you. Is it that IPPIS captures only people that pay money into their bank account or what?
“We are emphasising this so that when we start to engage IPPIS, you will not think that we are joking. So, report to them so that when they are appearing before us, they will provide explanation for all these.”
Dagari noted that the use of waiver was denying the government the opportunity to employ the best hands to man strategic positions in its service.
The directorate’s boss said waiver was unheard of during his years in the civil service.
He expressed concern about the trend, saying it robs many Nigerians of the jobs they qualify to get.
“I come from a very remote area in Yobe State. Without knowing anybody, I did my exams without anybody assisting me.
“If we had this type of situation then, some of us would not be holding the positions we are holding today. Maybe I would not be sitting here talking to you.
“I am not in support of waiver because so much cutting corners are done when it comes to waiver,” Dagari said.
He described the directorate as a separate body from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which was created through a presidential fiat in 2001.
