Interior Minister Abba Moro should carry the can for the death of 19 applicants at the Immigration Service recruitment centres last Saturday.
This is the verdict of the Board of Immigration Service, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence, Prisons and Fire Service.
The minister sidelined the Board in the tragic recruitment, it was learnt yesterday.
Speaking before the Hon. Solomon Olamilekan- Adeola-headed House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts yesterday, a Commissioner on the Board, Mr. S D Tapgun, absolved the Board of any wrong-doing in the botched exercise.
Tapgun, who led the board members and heads of the agencies under the board to a session before the committee, said the Board did not approve the recruitment.
His words: “Only the Interior Minister and the consultant he engaged for the exercise can tell Nigerians exactly what happened. Even the Comptroller-General of the Nigerian Immigration Service was not involved. He was not part of the recruitment at all. There was no board resolution to recruit anybody.
“When we, the members of the board, learnt about the recruitment, we wrote the Minister that we are not in support of engaging the services of a third party to conduct recruitment for the Immigration Service, but he ignored our letter and went ahead to engage the consultant named Rexel Technical Global Nigeria limited. The Consultant fixed everything, including a N1,000 fees, which they claimed was administrative charges.”
Tapgun said to prove the innocence of the board in the affair before Nigerians, members were ready to confront the Minister at any time.
According to the Commissioner, records at the board’s disposal show that 693,000 applicants who paid N1,000 each to designated banks by the consultant, were registered for the recruitment.
The Chairman of the Committee, Solomon Adeola said both the Interior Minister and the consultant should appear before the committee to explain where they derived the power for recruitment without approval from the Board.
They are also to reveal the total amount raked in from the applicants and the whereabout of the cash.
“This is fraud. Nigerians, our children have been defrauded to the tune of a billion naira. The Minister and the consultant must tell Nigerians how much was collected, the banks where the money is being kept and the account numbers, among others.”
The lawmaker said the committee had earlier summoned the Board before the tragic event after learning that applicants were being charged N1,000 each by the Nigeria Immigration Service for the recruitment.
The purpose at the time, Adeola said, was to enable the board account for the money so far collected. Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everyday
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Can you see life now. By the special grace of the Almighty God, they will all suffer one by one. When I read the news, I knew from the beginning that it's all fraud. Why would Jonathan ever keep someone like this in his cabinet if he is truly competent or sincere? Leaders are known for their good judgements all the time. And those in high authority are punished for exercising poor judgement. The minister is a rogue. Even from the statement he made after the exercise. I remember him being quoted "the victims died because they were impatient. It's sad and may the Almighty God forgive the departed souls and put them in paradise.
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