Peace, Harmony At FCC?

There is, perceptibly, a chilly silence at the Federal Character Commission (FCC) where, in spite of the vexatious and utterly embarrassing allegations and counter allegations of job racketeering, it seems nothing is being done to punish culprits and, ultimately, clean up the augean stable.

 In an advertorial, the FCC, obviously alluding to the discordant tunes between the chairman and some commissioners, claimed peace and harmony has returned to the agency.

We recall that during a hearing by the lower chambers of the National Assembly’s adhoc committee investigating federal ministries, departments and agencies, parastatals and tertiary institutions on mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system (IPPIS), allegations of job racketeering were levelled against the FCC Chairman, Muheeba Dankaka.

 Specifically, some commissioners told the committee that Dankaka has a syndicate through which she sells jobs to prospective job seekers for as high as N7,000,000 and as low as N750,000.

 One fact which is also in the public domain is the allegation by a former IPPIS desk officer at the Commission, Haruna Kolo, who told the NASS committee that he sold jobs to Nigerian applicants on Dankaka’s orders.

 Of course, Dankaka denied all the allegations and instead, accused some commissioners of job racketeering, suggesting clearly that the Commission may well be a cesspool of corruption.

 However, months after these revelations, nothing has been heard from the Committee regarding investigations, if any, to ascertain the veracity of the widespread allegations of job racketeering that dogged the Commission.

 It is under these circumstances that the FCC issued its advertorial which clearly suggests that the matter has been settled, an action that belies the nation’s efforts to combat graft and or abuse of office.

 Curiously, FCC noted in that publication that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation “appealed to the Commissioners and the Executive Chairman to go back and work together peacefully”

As a newspaper, we are alarmed that in the face of these weighty allegations, all the SGF could say, if, indeed, he said it, was to appeal to the Commissioners to work peacefully. But since there has been no formal denial from his office, it is safe to assume that he actually made the appeal.

Perhaps that is why none of the nation’s anti-graft agencies deemed it fit to interrogate the Chairman and Commissioners of the FCC to ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the allegations of job racketeering

 If such an inquiry was done and it was ascertained that the allegations were baseless,  how come the report is not made public? Fundamentally, this brazen attempt to pretend as if the allegations were never made in the first place, is disconcerting, to say the least.

 There are speculations that those who made the allegations may have been bullied into compromising and hence, the matter has been put to rest with nobody being held to account.

 So, when the Agency asserts, rather authoritatively, that peace and harmony has returned, it was merely reinforcing the long-held views and indeed, confirming the fears of Nigerians that nothing tangible will be done about the matter.

 Like most Nigerians, we are worried that as weighty as they are, all those allegations and counter-allegations by the Commissioners and the Chairman respectively, may have been swept under the carpet.

 It is our considered opinion that allegations of job racketeering, especially when such involve officials of an agency like FCC whose mandate is to ensure equitable distribution of positions in the public service as well as political appointments, deserves to be investigated.

 The need for thorough inquiry becomes more compelling considering the fact that at the centre of this scandal is an agency mandated to ensure compliance with the federal character principle.

It is apposite to state that the nation cannot afford to ignore allegations of job racketeering involving an agency whose mandate is to guard against predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups, in federal government ministries, agencies and parastatals.

 Therefore, we urge President Tinubu to order for a total overhaul of the FCC beginning with an in-depth investigation into this allegation so that all those found wanting will be made to face the full wrath of the law. FCC, for one, does not deserve this silence and peace of the graveyard.