The House of Representatives has ordered an investigation into reported breach of the federal character principle, by the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in its recruitment and promotion processes.
To this end, the House, Tuesday, mandated its Committees on Interior, Federal Character and Public Service Matters, to jointly investigate to investigate recruitment, staff quota and promotion exercises carried out by the NSCDC over a period of 10 years and report back within six weeks.
The move was fallout of a motion by Hon. Awaji-Inombek Abiante and Hon. Dumnamene Dekor, drawing attention of the House to alleged breaches.
Abiante, who moved the motion noted that “recent reports indicate that the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps has not been observing the Principles of Federal Character in its recruitment processes thus, marring the Corps with irregularities, racketeering, favouritism and nepotism as well as securing convictions for erring officials”.
According to the lawmaker, the recent recruitment exercises by the NSCDC were marred with favouritism and abuse of Federal Character Principles, where the management team used their position and influence in high places of authority to recruit family members, as reported that a recruitment exercise was done without advertisement with over 90 employment letters returned to the headquarters from Imo State as those who were to receive their letters did not show up, and that those slots were reported to belong to Rivers State indigenes.
He also recalled that in 2021, the Joint Committee on Security and Public Service of the Bauchi State House of Assembly, led by Honourable Sabo Bako Sade had recommended outright rejection of the recruitment exercise as being fraudulent, a suggestion he said the state parliament through a resolution, adopted and communicated same to the NSCDC headquarters.
He said “this ugly precedence has become a frequent occurrence in the NSCDC and currently, indigenes of other states are being employed, promoted and allocated in the place of the quota for Rivers State indigenes”.
ENDS
