Victims of FCC’s job racketeering say they coughed out millions in bribe – Blueprint Newspapers Limited

Two victims of the alleged job racketeering at the Federal Character Commission (FCC), have told an Ad hoc committee of the House of Representatives that they separately paid one and two million naira to obtain the employment letters, now declared fake.

The Adamu Yusuf Gagdi-led committee has been investigating the reported employment racketeering and breach of the federal government Integrated Personnel payroll and Information System (IPPIS).

At the committee’s resumed hearing on Tuesday, the victims pleaded that the employment should be formalized.

The victims, Abdulmalik Isah Ahmed and Ali Muhammed Yero said they paid the sum of one million naira and two million naira respectively to Haruna Kolo of the Federal Character Commission, and Badamasi Jalo, another victim who was coordinating payments for other candidates seeing employment into the Federal Character Commission though Kolo.

According to Abdulmalik Ahmed, their employment letter which was earlier issued to 27 of them was later retrieved from them at a meeting on the 17th of July 2023 by a committee which subsequently collected their original appointment letters, adding that the Secretary to the Taraba state commissioner told them that they do not send appointment letter to the commission but promised them that they will conduct an investigation into the case, retrieve their monies and regularize them and they were asked to come back on Tuesday 25th July 2023.

“Haruna Kolo told me the slot was from the Chairperson of the commission that is why I would be captured under IPPIS platform .Badamasi brought the employment letter with some documents for me on the 5th of August 2022, Badamasi took me to Treasury House in Abuja where Kolo Haruna took me to the IPPIS office and I was captured on IPPIS platform”, he told the panel.

Also testifying, Abdulmalik Isa Ahmed said that though his employment letter has been retrieved, he still receive salary up till date despite not been posted by the commission.

“This is the list of five among us who have stopped receiving their pay though I still received my salary up to date. When we were pressurizing the Commission, we sent this documents to Badamasi Jalo, already this document has been signed for the enrolment of some of us that have stopped receiving pay.

“So, the down signature is that of the Secretary. When we went to the chairman, because I happened to be among the three that appeared before the chairman. Before the Secretary effect anything, she said the document was forged”, he said.

ENDS