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It was another day of more revelations on Tuesday before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigating alleged Job racketeering and abuse of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) by Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as another two witnesses confirmed the payment of millions of Naira through proxies as payment for jobs at the Federal Character Commission (FCC).
The duo, Abdulmalik Isah Ahmed and Ali Muhammad Yero were on Monday summoned to appear before the Committee when it was discovered that their names featured on transfers made into the Banks account of one Haruna Kolo who had earlier appeared before the Committee and admitted to taking money for employment on behalf of the executive chairman of the Commission.
Speaking first after an oath was administered to him, Ahmed said, they were convinced to make the payment when they were promised to be among the persons recruited in 2021.
According to him, “Because we learnt that there was a recruitment, 2021 recruitment, each of the Commissioners had candidates and the directors, that was the selection adopted. So, we who were nobody, ordinary citizens of the country came through this process.
“Sir, after having gotten the appointments, Mr Kolo promised us to be posted in two months’ time. That was when the other recruits when they were ready with the other recruitments of our batch.
“All of the Commissioners are having candidates nothing less than a candidate and directors, some of the directors from what I know, because I have been interacting with people in the system.
“So, we came through Kolo, through this means of paying money and he promised us that since he has others to go with our batch. That was the reason we were convinced about him. We were convinced that we have to go along.
“I got to know Kolo through the driver of Taraba Commissioner in the Commission, I transferred a million Naira to Kolo’s account on the arrangement that, because I was told that, the monthly pay is about N140,000 or N130,000. So, we agreed on N1.5 million with the driver first. We bargained with the driver on behalf of Kolo. His name is Yusha’u Gambo”.
The other witness, Ali Muhammad Yero said, his two brothers paid N2 million in instalments to secure the job for him.
According to him, one of them paid N1.5 million while the other paid N500,000 as a balance.
“My brothers Nurudeen Yero and Abdulrazak Yero paid the sum of N2 million Naira to Badamasi Yaro’s account on the 2nd of August 2022. Badamasi Yaro is working with Haruna Kolo and the money paid into his account was for a job at the Federal Character Commission.
“Haruna Kolo told me the slot was from the Chairperson of the commission which is why I would be captured under the IPPIS platform Badamasi brought the employment letter with some documents for me on the 5th of August 2022, Badamasi took me to Treasury House where Kolo Haruna took me to the IPPIS office and I was captured on IPPIS platform”.
They however said their appointment letters were later collected by the Human Resources unit of the FCC and promised to be regularised after an investigation.
Abdulmalik further explained that despite the fact that, his appointment letter was collected back by the FCC, he is still receiving salary and had been disturbing the Commission for posting instead of receiving salary without working which the Commission refused till date.
Responding after their submissions, the Chairman of the Committee, Hon Yusuf Adamu Gagdi appealed to the two witnesses to reach out to the other applicants involved as the Committee will arrange a meeting with them on the matter.
He also told the Clerk to invite Haruna Kolo, the Secretary and driver to the Commissioner representing Taraba in the FCC to appear before Committee on Wednesday to explain their roles as proxies in the job racketeering.
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