The
Leadership of the APC has alleged that members of Pres. Jonathan's
administration are engaging in last minute dubious activities ahead of
the
May 29th
handover. In a statement released by the publicity secretary of the
party, Lai Mohammed, the party alleged that reports from the media as
well as information gathered from reliable sources suggest the current
administration is engaging in rushed contract awarding and staff
recruitment.
"For example, the National
Council on Privatisation, which is headed by the Vice-President, has
just approved the financial bid opening for transaction advisers for the
privatisation of the three development finance institutions in the
country – the Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry and Nigeria
Commodity Exchange. Question is: What is the rationale for rushing this
exercise with just weeks left for this administration?
Also, there
have been reports, not refuted,
of a planned hurried recruitment into
the Nigeria Immigration Service, after a previous attempt ended in a
national tragedy and the fleecing of innocent job seekers by mindless
Federal Government officials. The Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and
Prisons Services Board is only empowered to recruit, promote and
discipline only senior officers (levels eight and above). The power to
recruit, promote and discipline junior officers is vested in the
different services, in this case the Nigeria Immigration Service.
Therefore, the recruitment exercise now being conducted by the federal
civil service under the auspices of the Presidential Committee to Assist
on Immigration Recruitment usurps the functions of the board as it
relates to the recruitment of Senior Officers (level 08) and that of the
immigration service as it relates to Junior Officers (levels 07 and
below).”the statement in part read
The party also alleged
that the FCT minister, Senator Bala Mohammed has embarked on the secret
recruitment of about 500 new staff into the Federal Capital Development
Authority
"We do not know if this report,
as well as others, is true. But if indeed these rushed privatisation
and hurried recruitment exercises – in the twilight of the Jonathan
administration – are true, they raise serious questions concerning the
reasons behind such actions. We are therefore compelled to call on
President Jonathan to call his officials to order, lest they engage in
actions that can later embarrass his administration. This is against the
backdrop of the precarious situation into which the Jonathan
administration has plunged the nation’s economy, no thanks to years of
ceaseless and unprecedented profligacy by the outgoing administration,
as well as mind-boggling acts of corruption and looting of the public
treasury by some administration officials and their collaborators” the
statement read
