The Ministry of Labour and Employment clarified its stance in the case of illegal recruitment raised in the establishment.
Mr Charles Akpan, the ministry’s Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations, stated this in a statement issued on Tuesday in Abuja.
Akpan stated this in response to the Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye’s, comment about illegal recruitment at the 3rd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Service held at the Presidential Villa.
According to him, the case is an old but ongoing investigation that the ICPC should have completed since Sen. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, reported the matter upon re-appointment as minister in August 2019.
“Yes, an illegal recruitment was carried out between May 29, 2019 and August 2019, when the President dissolved his first-term cabinet and Senator Ngige was temporarily removed from office.”
“However, upon re-appointment and resumption of duties as Minister of Labour and Employment in August 2019, Sen. Ngige discovered the illegality and immediately brought it to the attention of the Federal Executive Council.”
“A preliminary investigation by the Federation’s Office of the Head of Service was also required.”
“The minister then appointed an Internal Investigative Committee in the ministry to investigate how 752 senior and 532 junior staff employees were hired in the ministry without Ministerial and Head of Civil Service of the Federation approval, as stated in the current recruitment circular.”
“Unfortunately, the Committee’s activities were stymied by the then-Permanent Secretary, who claimed that the ICPC had intervened in the matter,” he stated.
He went on to say that the onus is now squarely on the ICPC to break the syndicate, which the minister correctly reported first to the Federal Executive Council and was later taken over by the ICPC two and a half years ago.
” The ministry would also like to point out that all recruitments, particularly those of senior civil servants, go through the Federal Civil Service Commission and are, in fact, solely authorized by it.”
“The ICPC should thus widen its inquiry into the Federal Civil Service Commission to break the syndicate, a positive beginning in this direction, no doubt,” he stated.