Job Racketeering: Lack of Funds Mar Recruitment of 173 Fresh Staff in FRC, Says  Chairman

Juliet Akoje in Abuja

The Executive Chairman of the Fiscal Responsibility Commission (FRC), Barr. Victor Muruako, yesterday disclosed that lack of funds has prevented the recruitment of 173 fresh staff into the agency since 2022.

Muruako revealed this when he appeared before the House of Representatives ad hoc committee on job racketeering and abuse of the IPPIS by ministries, departments and agencies of government.

 The chairman  said that the commission was given approval since 2022 to recruit 173 members of staff but due to lack of funds, the exercise has not be carried out.

While responding to the seeming lopsidedness in the nominal roll of staff of the agency, he  promised that the lapses would be redressed when the next recruitment is conducted.

“The last two recruitments carried out by the commission in 2010 and 2012 were done before I assumed duty as acting chairman.”

The chairman of the ad hoc committee, Hon. Yusuf Adamu Gagdi (APC, Plateau) had earlier queried the chairman over the lack of federal character in the nominal role of staff of the commission.

Gadji  said: “In the appendix 5- summary page, I see that Imo state has the highest with 14 staff, Benue is second with eight while Bauchi, Borno, Kwara, Lagos, Osun has zero. In fact, apart from Imo and Benue, no state has more than four staff. Is it because you are from Imo state and decided to corner all the jobs to your state? We want to either these wrongs and ensure that the principle of federal character is strictly complied with by MDAs.”

Muruako while responding said that he was not responsible for the previous recruitments and that he only brought in two assistants who are not statutory staff of the commission but political appointees.

“These recruitments were done in 2010 and 2012 and since I came, we have not done any recruitment because we do not have the resources to do so. But I want to assure this Honourable committee that we shall address the imbalance when the impending recruitment is carried out,” he said.

Gagdi promised that the committee would make case for the FRC before the Budget Office to ensure that adequate funds are allocated to the agency to carry out its functions.

In another development, the ad hoc committee also queried the Director General of the Nigeria Hydrological Services Agency, Mr. Clement Nze over the lopsidedness in recruitment and nominal roll of staff.

The committee raised concern over the revelation that out of 11 staff from Abia state, seven are from Ummonochi Local Government Area where the DG hails from.

However, the ad hoc committee equally faults the discovery that out of seven  staff members  from Borno state, three were from Askira Uba local government area- the same as the director, hydrogeophysics, Mr. Stephen Margima Jabo.

 The chairman of the ad hoc committee, further directed the DG to furnish them with a comprehensive list of staff spread by states among others.