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I collected money from job-seekers on behalf of FCC Chairman, ex-staff alleges
 
By: Abara Blessing Oluchi
Tue, 8 Aug 2023   ||   Nigeria,
 

Former staff of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Haruna Kolo, has alleged that job seekers paid millions of naira to his personal account for transmission to the Chairman, Mrs. Farida Dankaka.

Kolo stated this in Abuja, yesterday, at the resumed investigative hearing of the House of Representatives Ad hoc Committee probing job racketeering in federal Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs)of Government.

The committee is also probing mismanagement of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information (IPPIS) in MDAs.

The former member of staff of FCC said he usually approached the Point of Sale Service (POS) agents to collect the money in cash to deliver to the chairman.

Kolo, who now work with the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), said Dankaka appointed him as her chief protocol while serving in FCC.

He said he saw the allegation against him in the media regarding job racketeering. He said some of those who came to seek job in the commission paid between N1 million to N5 million depending on the MDAs.

Kolo said he had never been involved in selling job, adding that he only acted on the instruction of Dankaka who was always receiving the money in cash.

“She often gives me verbal instruction in respect of people paying for jobs and lodgment after the collection of the agreed amount.

“The money is always sent to my account which I subsequently cashed to remit in cash,” he said.

Kolo said his redeployment to AMCON was with the knowledge of the chairman of the commission.

“My going to AMCON was her personal favour to me and others that left FCC at the time,” he said.

He, however, accused the chairman of going after him, when her sister was rejected at AMCON due to age factor.

Kolo said the sister in question was already 51 years at the time she was given the job at AMCON.

He said he had been receiving several call threatening his life, while seeking protection from the committee, adding “anything that happens to me, the FCC chairman should be held responsible.”

Kolo also said contrary to the chairman’s claim that FCC had not carried out recruitment exercise since her assumption of office was not true.

In a reaction to Kolo’s allegations, Dankaka said she never collected any money from Kolo as alleged, adding that it was a conspiracy between him and the other commissioners to tarnish her image.

Disturbed by the barraged of allegations, Dankaka immediately brought out a copy of Holy Qur’an, swearing ever to have collected any money from Kolo as a proceeds of job racketeering.

“I have never asked him to collect money from job seekers for me.”

Responding to the issues, Chairman of the committee, Yusuf Gagdi, said the committee was in possession of an evidence that Kolo had N38.5 million in his account, which was withdrew from POS.

He said a total of N75 million was in Kolo’s account in Access Bank, UBA and Eco bank as a proceed of job racketeering

“Kolo was serving as a front for collecting money for job recruitments in the commission as against the service, financial regulation and the extant law.

“The record I have about your account you don’t even have, the record of your service I have. We are not giving any judgment in FCC, we are still investigating.

“This committee will have to be judicial in nature. We knew why we asked Kolo to give us evidence. We must come out straight; we aren’t even talking about racketeering in other MDAs.

“Kolo you are not supposed to leave here without being arrested. As a civil servant, you are not supposed to have such huge amount in your account,” the committee chairman said.

 

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