IMMIGRATION JOB Tragedy: Members Feign Ignorance As C’ttee Flouts Presidential Directive CHRISTIANA NWAOGU, Igho Oyoyo and Jonathan Nda-Isaiah — Oct 25, 2014 | Leave a comment Injured job seekers who were promised automatic employment and families which lost their loved ones in the March 2014 immigration job tragedy and were supposed to get automatic employment for three family members into the immigration service may have to wait longer for the promise to materialise as indications emerged during the week that the waiting period is far from being over. LEADERSHIP Weekend gathered that, seven months after a committee was inaugurated to carry out fresh recruitment into the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS), which was supposed to also fulfil government’s promise to relations of the deceased and the injured, some heads of agencies named as members of the committee have feigned ignorance of their membership, saying they have never been invited to any of the committee’s meetings. It has emerged that the committee saddled with the responsibility, and was directed to complete its assignment within 12 weeks, is having a hard time coming up with an authentic list as it had been inundated with claims from various persons claiming to have been injured during the incident, with some desperate job seekers claiming to be relations of the deceased persons. Already, those promised jobs have become impatient and are already protesting government’s silence and indifference to their plight. Some of the victims in Benin, Edo State, on Tuesday staged a protest during which they decried the way the matter had been handled so far. They called upon the president to keep his promise so that the souls of their departed family members would rest in peace. Over 20 job-seeking youths lost their lives on March 15 this year in various centres across the country where the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) carried out recruitment tests into the service. The poorly organised tests, which were held in stadia across the country, degenerated into stampedes during which many casualties were recorded. About 693,000 youths had applied for the job and paid N1,000 each as application fee. Many Nigerians had blamed the minister of Interior, Abba Moro, who oversaw the exercise for awarding the test exercise to an incompetent outfit which prioritised profit over integrity. LEADERSHIP Weekend recalls that following public outcry over the shabby conduct of the exercise and resultant loss of lives, President Goodluck Jonathan had ordered its cancellation and the provision of three employment slots, one of which must be a woman, for each of the families that lost their loved ones during the recruitment exercise. Those who sustained injuries were also promised automatic employment into the immigration service. The president also set up of a committee, headed by the chairman of the Federal Civil Service Commission, Deaconess Joan Ayo, to conduct a fresh exercise which must be carried out according to Federal Civil Service procedures. Similarly, a circular from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, dated March 26, 2013, listed other members of the committee as the comptroller-general of Immigration, representative of the head of the Civil Service of the Federation (HoS), representative of the commandant-general, Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and representative of the comptroller, Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) as members. Others were the representative of the corps marshal, Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), representative of the director-general, Department of State Services, and permanent secretary, Special Duties, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation as secretary. The committee was expected to liaise with the Civil Defence, Fire Service, Immigration and Prisons Board (CDFIPB) and confirm the actual number of personnel to be recruited. The committee was also to assist the board by re-advertising the recruitment into the NIS with a view to starting the recruitment process afresh as well as processing the applications, short-listing potential candidates and conducting the necessary interviews, following all relevant laws, public service rules and guidelines to determine successful applicants and announce their appointment into the NIS. The committee was given 12 weeks to complete its assignment. However, seven months after the inauguration of the committee, mum has been the word from it. Efforts to inquire into the matter have been unsuccessful as the committee has consistently declined comments on the matter. This is just as the Senate has failed to discuss or implement a report on the matter presented to it by its committee on interior. The Senate had, in March, given its committee on interior two weeks to carry out an investigation into the matter and report back. The committee led by Senator Atiku Bagudu submitted its report about six weeks after but the Senate has not listed it on the order paper for consideration since then. A head of one of the para-military agencies, who spoke with LEADERSHIP Weekend on the condition of anonymity, distanced himself from the committee, insisting that his agency was not part of it. “I am not aware that my agency is supposed to be represented on the committee you speak of. No one has given me any notification and I have never received an invitation to any of the committee’s meeting,” he said. We are not part of it – Interior ministry Meanwhile, the ministry of interior has denied any involvement in the matter, saying that contrary to widely held speculation that it had swept the matter under the carpet, the ministry was rather awaiting the list of successful candidates employed by the presidential committee. Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, said his ministry was awaiting the authentic list of the successful candidates to commence the enforcement of the directive. “Yes, the committee was given a 12-week timeframe within which to conclude its assignment. We are patiently waiting for the committee to diligently do its job and avail us the appropriate list, and then we will comply with Mr. President’s directive. Our job is basically to act on the final list,” he explained. The minister who is not a member of the presidential committee said he was confident that the committee was working to ensure that the mistakes of the past were not repeated. He, however, blamed the delay on the cumbersome nature of arriving at the final list in a bid to exclude erase fictitious claims by some desperate job seekers who have either forged documents claiming to be relations of deceased victims or forged medical reports claiming to have sustained injuries during the incident. “Don’t forget that experience has shown that immediately Mr. President made that pronouncement, a lot of persons started claiming that they were victims of the exercise and, so, we were inundated with lists of persons who claimed that they were wounded or their loved ones died in the process,” the minister said. The director of Information in the Federal Service Civil Commission, Dr. Joel Eruche, in a reaction, said the committee was still working and would make its report public at the appropriate time. Asked if those injured during the recruitment exercise had been given the automatic employment promised by President Jonathan, he said that it was the immigration service that could give information on the automatic employment and not the commission. Govt’s action callous, wicked – Keyamo Reacting to the development, social crusader, Barr Festus Keyamo, who spoke with LEADERSHIP Weekend in a telephone interview, described the delay in effecting government’s promise in this regard as callous. According to him, “it only depicts the double face of government to the plight of its citizens. Government only plays politics with the lives of citizens and does not feel genuine empathy for its citizens. “When there are issues such as Boko Haram bombings, ministers, governors, etc, flock to the scene and hospitals only for photo ops and, after that, they make political statements, and after they’ve been captured in newspapers, they go and forget those people. Government only plays politics with the lives of people; they are not sincere; they are callous, wicked and senseless to the plight of the people. Only God will judge them who use people’s plight to look for votes.” We’ll treat report soon – Sen Enang The chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Ita Enang, has, however, debunked insinuations that it abandoned the report of the Senate Committee on Interior on the matter, insisting that the committee was not playing politics with the matter. Sen Enang, who disclosed this in an interview with LEADERSHIP Weekend, said the report would soon be listed on the order paper and treated by the Upper House. Dispelling the notion, he said that a report that had gone through second reading and public hearing cannot be thrown into the dustbin by the Senate. The lawmaker disclosed that, very soon, the Immigration tragedy report would soon be tabled for consideration “We have treated private bills and executive bills this past week. We are not prioritising any matter. You can see we didn’t treat any report this week but only private and executive bills, and I can assure you, very soon, it will be listed on the order paper.” Enang also gave the assurance that all outstanding reports would be considered by the Upper House before the expiration of the 7th Senate. On the allegation that the Senate was under pressure not to consider the report because of the closeness of the minister of Interior Abba Moro to the Senate President David Mark, Enang debunked the claims, saying, “there is no such thing. Every matter is very important. I am sure, this week, you noticed that the Senate treated very important bills. We are very serious-minded. A matter that has been put to public hearing cannot just be thrown away; in a few days, the Senate will treat the report.”
Posted on: Sat, 25 Oct 2014 07:55:45 +0000
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