By Ubong Ukpong, Abuja

Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF), Mrs. Folashade Esan, on Monday, exposed desk officers of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) in Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) for perpetrating fraud in recruitment exercises.

During her appearance before the House of Representatives committee investigating job racketeering in MDAs and mismanagement of IPPIS in Abuja, Mrs.

She revealed that many MDAs violated waivers in job recruitment and that she discovered some IPPIS staff involved in unscrupulous activities within MDAs. Mrs. Esan promptly reported such cases to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).

The HoSF emphasized that once foul play in enrollment was discovered, disciplinary actions were taken against the involved officers. She also clarified that her office does not request any percentage of job recruitment allocation from MDAs.

Regarding the issue of waivers for employment, Mrs. Esan stated that her office closely monitors such waivers to ensure compliance. The HoSF asserted that IPPIS does not enroll individuals unless they have approval from the Federal Character Commission, HoSF, and the Budget office.

The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating job racketeering in MDAs summoned the former secretary of the Federal Character Commission (FCC) over missing documents related to recruitment details.

The IPPIS desk officer in the commission, Haruna Kolo, was also summoned over allegations of job racketeering.

Chairman of the ad hoc committee, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, stated that the committee would ensure a thorough investigation, engaging relevant agencies mentioned in the job racketeering. He expressed concern over missing documents and demanded the past secretary of the commission to provide the required documents.

A committee member, Rep. Wole Oke, also emphasized the need for accountability and questioned the inability to produce the necessary documents. The FCC chairman, Mrs. Farida Dankaka, and the incumbent Secretary admitted to some document submissions, but Rep. Gagdi demanded the remaining documents.

The committee directed that Kolo and the Director of IPPIS should appear before the panel on August 4 for further investigation.

Mrs. Dankaka had earlier claimed that the FCC had not recruited from 2020 till date, but the payroll submitted to the committee contradicted her statement. She clarified that the recruitment process had not been completed, and the beneficiaries’ names and details were yet to be sent to IPPIS.

Regarding the allegations against Kolo, Mrs. Dankaka clarified that he is the IPPIS desk officer in their office, not her Personal Assistant, and denied his involvement in any forgery of her signature for job allocations.