House Ad-hoc Committee Bars FCC Officials From Addressing Journalists Over IPPIS Probe

*As Former Federal Character Commission Staff Alleges Job Seekers Paid Millions for Job Racketeering

The House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating job racketeering and gross mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) in Nigeria has barred the chairman, secretary and commissioners of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) from addressing journalists about the probe.

The chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, at the resumed investigative hearing of the panel yesterday stated this after grilling Haruna Kolo, a former protocol officer to the FCC chairman, Muheeba Dankaka and taking responses from some commissioners the chairman accused of sharp practices.

While the FCC delegation, consisting of the anti and pro-Dankaka divide, were leaving the hearing room, Gagdi said, “Federal Character we have resolved …wait, please sit down, no commissioner should address the press. Don’t preempt our investigation.

“Federal Character please allow us to do justice, including the chairman, secretary, nobody from Federal Character should address the press on the pending investigation.”

The chairman vowed that the committee will not allow taxpayers money to be embezzled.

“I said in the speech I read I didn’t see the relationship between selling this and selling that. I was very clear. I know why we were asking Kolo to give us evidence and we know why we were deferring this sitting for other witnesses that are alleged to have had financial dealings with Federal Character.

“Kolo appears here tomorrow. We are calling the other witnesses. We will allow you to do your work. Whomever that is found wanting will answer his father’s name, including Kolo Haruna. Kolo, I am not saying anything will happen to you but by law you are not supposed to leave here without being arrested.

“For a civil servant that has thirty something million in his account that admitted publicly that you are serving as a front to aid corruption. So, I am quiet, I think and I don’t want to take you up on that because we don’t want to be seen to be sentimental. We want to protect you as much possible to get evidence against you and against others,” Gagdi said.

Kolo had in his response to queries by the lawmakers said as the protocol officer to the chairman, he had been collecting between N1 million to N1.5 million for his boss from individual applicants before he left the Commission.

“On the allegations of job racketeering, the FCC chairman instructed me to liaise with one Mr Shehu who is a personal driver and PA to the Taraba State commissioner. As a desk officer, I am responsible to take whoever is employed to IPPIS for capturing. No one can go there without a letter from the Chairman or Human Resource officer of FCC.

“When she came, she wrote a letter to the Accountant General instructing that no letter from FCC should be honored except she signed the letter. So, whenever there were new employees, she signs, gives them to me and I take them to the accountant-generals office for capturing.

“Shehu is the one that brought those who paid money to my account for a job, some paid 1million others 1.5 million all to my personal account, my Eco bank account. She asked me to give cash to her which I did through PoS so there is no evidence of transfer or anything,” he said.

Kolo informed the Committee that employment in Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) was the personal favour of the chairman to him and four others, hence it was not fraudulent as alleged.

“I see no reason why the chairperson will make allegations of such magnitude to my humble self. I have been threatened even at gunpoint and had to leave Abuja.

“Sir I want this committee to know that after this sitting if anything happens to me the FCC chairperson should be held responsible, “ Kolo stated.

In her response, Dankaka swears with God and Holy Qu’ran that she never collected money from Kolo, insisting that she has never instructed her former subordinate to collect money on her behalf.

“I swear with Almighty God I am with this Qu’ran. Thank God the secretary brought this Qu’ran. If I ever collect one naira from this Kolo, may almighty destroy what I worked for. If I have ever in my life asked him to go and collect one naira from anybody with Qu’ran let it be destroyed.

“I have not set my eyes on this Kolo since December. I don’t know the driver that they are talking about. I have never set eyes on the driver. He said he comes to my house to give me money, he does not come to my house to give me money,” she said.