By FEMI OGUNSHOLA

No fewer than 35 Federal Ministries, Department and Agencies of Government on Tuesday in Abuja failed to appear before the House of Representatives Ad hoc committee investigating alleged job racketeering.

Rep Yusuf Gagdi, chairman ad hoc committee probing employment racketeering and gross mismanagement of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) said most of the agencies were not respectful of constituted authority.

“Most of these agencies are not respectful of constituted authority.

“We are supposed to have the presence of 40 agencies but only four are here,” he said.

The chairman also read the riot act against some of the agencies earlier told to provide staff to serve as desk officers in the committee in a bid to provide necessary information when requested but failed.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Gagdi had earlier asked the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Budget Office, IPPIS and the Federal Character Commission to provide desk officer that would be in the committee to give requisite information.’’

NAN report that after the agencies failed to provide the desk officers, the chairman of the committee ordered that their directors should henceforth come to provide the information needed instead of the desk officers.

“If the desk officers of head of service, budget office, IPPIS are not here then we should summon their directors to come and sit here so we can do the work together, ” he said.

Five of the agencies that appeared before the committee are: Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, National Teachers Institute, National Commission for Colleges of Education and National Power Training Institute of Nigeria among others.

Gagdi berated agencies for applying for waiver for the recruitment without advertising the same, adding that such were usually used to perpetrate fraud.

He noted that instead of engaging 100 staff as stipulated by the law guiding waiver on recruitment some agencies recruited as much as 150, thereby going beyond limit.

Prof. Josiah Ajiboye, Registrar, Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria while answering questions on recruitment, said in 2018, 122 people had been recruited since he became the registrar in 2016.

“We got approval to recruit 122 with budget approval and waiver from the head of Service of the federation.

Prof. Paulinus Chijioke, Registrar, National Commission for Colleges of Education said the total strength of the commission was 280, while urging for approval to employ more staff.

He said 67 staff were replaced which was contrary to the 69 staff that was submitted to the committee, he was however asked to leave when the number of officers recruited were inconsistent. (NAN)

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