Former Senate President and current Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, Adolphus Wabara, has called for the sacking of the Chairman of the Federal Character Commission, Muheeba Dankaka, over corruption allegations.
Speaking in an exclusive interview with Saturday PUNCH, the former Senate President shared his experience during a visit to the FCC, where he sought job placements for individuals in his constituency.
He revealed that he was informed that jobs were not available without a bribe.
“I physically went to the FCC, requesting two or three jobs for some people in my wards. You will not believe that up till now, nothing has been done for the simple reason that I have not dropped any money and that they cannot even ask me to drop money. But I found out from some people there that they wouldn’t give any job to my ward for free,” he stated.
This is not the first time such allegations of job racketeering have surfaced regarding the FCC.
During one of the House of Representatives Committee public hearings tasked with investigating job racketeering, 14 witnesses testified about paying money to a former Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System desk officer at the FCC, Haruna Kolo, for job placements.
Kolo, during an interrogation, admitted to collecting money from job seekers and claimed to have handed it over to Dankaka.
However, the committee investigating the matter led by Yusuf Gagdi (APC, Plateau) has yet to release its findings one year after, raising suspicions that the inquiry may have been suppressed.
A source within the House of Representatives, who requested anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the matter, indicated that substantial evidence was collected but went unaddressed due to the influence of those implicated.
Wabara criticised the APC-led government and the National Assembly for allegedly ignoring the matter bordering on corruption.
“Despite the serious allegations, nothing has been done. I expected the same swift action that was taken against Betta Edu (former minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation) to be applied here,” he said.
