APC warns against last-minute looting, hurried recruitment

The All Progressives Congress has decried the reported allegations of last-minute looting of the nation’s resources, hurried recruitment into the public service and rushed privatisation of key financial institutions by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

It warned on Sunday that such “egregious actions” would have serious repercussions.

In a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said apart from the instances of such cases that had been reported by the local media, it had been inundated with calls and messages by concerned Nigerians, alerting it to the unscrupulous actions of some Jonathan’s administration officials.

APC said while the Jonathan administration remains in office till midnight of May 28, and governance in the country would not stop because a new President had been elected, it was incumbent upon the outgoing administration not to create more problems for the incoming government, or to “tie the new government’s hands” through suspicious actions.

The party explained that while it is true that the incoming Muhammadu Buhari administration would not get itself bogged down by an endless probe of the activities of the Jonathan administration, all actions taken since the result of the March 28 presidential election was announced, might come under the searchlight.

It added, ”For example, the National Council on Privatisation, which is headed by the Vice President, has just approved the financial bid opening for transaction advisers for the privatisation of the three Development Finance Institutions in the country – the Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry and Nigeria Commodity Exchange.

“The question is: What is the rationale for rushing this exercise with just weeks left for this administration?

”Also, there have been reports, yet to be refuted, of a planned, hurried recruitment into the Nigeria Immigration Service, after a previous attempt ended in a national tragedy and the fleecing of innocent job seekers by the mindless Federal Government officials. Apart from the fact that this last-minute recruitment is suspect, it is irregular.

”The Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board is only empowered to recruit, promote and discipline only senior officers (Levels 8 and above). The power to recruit, promote and discipline junior officers is vested in the different services, in this case, the Nigeria Immigration Service.

”Therefore, the recruitment exercise now being conducted by the Federal Civil Service, under the auspices of the Presidential Committee to Assist on Immigration Recruitment, usurps the functions of the Board as it relates to recruitment of Senior Officers (Level 08) and that of the Immigration Service as it relates to Junior Officers (levels 07 and below).”

It also called attention to a published report that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, plans to use the Federal Capital Development Authority to carry out a secret employment of no fewer than 500 workers before the end of April 2015.

It stated, ”We do not know if this report, as well as others, is true. But if indeed these rushed privatisations and hurried recruitment exercises – in the twilight of the Jonathan administration – are true, they raise serious questions concerning the reasons behind such actions. We are therefore compelled to call on President Jonathan to caution his administration officials, lest they engage in actions that can later embarrass his administration”