– Staff calls for the suspension of ICPC chairman and board of management for violating the constitution.
– Members of staff of ICPC petition President Buhari, demands for independent investigation of the chairman, Ekpo Nta.
Some members of staff of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) have voiced out their frustrations over the management of the commission by its chairman, Ekpo Nta.
The aggrieved ICPC members have petitioned President Muhammadu Buhari over what they referred to as gross abuse of office and mismanagement by the chairman.
Complaining in two written separate petitions to the president, the displeased staff of the commission urged the president to commence an independent investigation into the activities of the anti-corruption agency in the past year.
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The staff accused Nta of compromising the mandate of the commission, as well as violating several sections of the Act setting up the Commission.
In one of the petitions, the staff said that the chairman was not eligible for the office on the basis of his lack of cognate experience but was nominated for the job by the former Governor, Akwa Ibom state (now a senator), Godswill Akpabio.
Some members of staff of the ICPC have voiced out their frustrations over the management of the commission by its chairman, Ekpo Nta
Calling for the suspension of the chairman, board and management of the commission even as a thorough investigation is commenced, the staff also accused Nta of truncating an ongoing recruitment exercise being conducted by NAKACHI Consult, a human resources firm contracted in 2010 to conduct the recruitment exercise.
Nta was alleged to have replaced shortlisted candidates with children and relations of those in power during former President Goodluck Jonathan regime and those connected to the commission’s board.
“A sham subjective examination of no substance was quickly organised for the favoured candidates many of whom never wrote the exam but were recruited.
“As it is, the fraudulently recruited staff were hurriedly packaged for a confirmation examination between the May 27th and 28th, 2015 before the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari was sworn in.
“Most of these new recruits do not possess the requisite qualifications and certificates they claim and no due diligence was conducted on them as was done with the older staff,” said the staff in a petition obtained by our correspondent.
They also alleged that the chairman is still recruiting staff without due consideration to the federal character and subsequently back dating letters of appointment so that they can be quickly confirmed.
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According to one of the petitions by ICPC staff, they argued that Nta also violated Sections 16, 19, 26 (a-9) of the ICPC Act noting that eight of the 20 staff recruited in January 2015 were from Nta’s home state, Akwa Ibom.
“In furtherance of perpetrating the recruitment scam and atrocities, Ekpo Nta in a bid to cover the inadequacies of his recruits, directed that they should be granted for screening of certificates before the confirmation exam because many of them don’t have the certificates.
“In addition, the pass mark for the confirmation examination has been dropped from 60% to 45% to favour his recruits violating Section 19 and 26 (a-c) of the Commission Act. The recruited staff are being quietly upgraded to higher levels notwithstanding that they had already accepted the offer of employment on resumption of duty. This is in violation of the codes of the Public Service and natural justice considering the fact that same privileges have not been extended to other employees”, the staff said.
Concluding the petition, the aggrieved staff said the Anti-corruption agency is wallowing in mismanagement and corruption because the leadership of the commission and their cronies have compromised its integrity.
They opined that anything devoid of suspending and chairman and board and management of the commission for a thorough investigation will not yield the desired result.
“Those found culpable by investigation must be prosecuted. There should no sacred cows. The Commission is and should be the fulcrum in the fight against corruption. Before the battle proper, the Augean stable has to be cleaned and set as an example”.
Meanwhile, the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo has dismissed suggestions that the anti-graft war is the cause of high cost of living.
Osinbajo made this remarks at a symposium titled: “The best way to fund and sustain anti-corruption efforts in Nigeria,” organized by the Integrity Organization and Convention on Business Integrity.
He reiterated the federal government’s resolve to move against those who have acted with impunity in the handling of public funds.
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