Recruitment: Reps order NIS to stop collecting payment from applicants

Sordid details of how job seekers were fleeced by Federal Government agencies were made open at the House of Representatives on Wednesday during a probe into allegation of job racketeering in the Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

At the opening session of the two-day investigative hearing, it was made public that most of the affected MDAs have jettisoned public service rules on recruitment, as selection of applicants were discovered to have been made through the back doors.

The House had recently, through a resolution, set up joint Committees on Public Service Matters, Employment, Labour Productivity and Anti-Corruption, National Ethics and Values, to investigate the alleged racketeering in the recruitment into the public service following an out cries over alleged for job in Public process.

At the Wednesday’s sitting of the joint committee, chaired by Andrew Uchendu, the Board of the Nigerian Prisons (NP), Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) in charge of the on going recruitment into the NIS were ordered to stop the collection of N1, 000 application fees from all applicants.

All monies already collected from million of applicants by the board were also ordered refunded to those who had already paid with immediate effect.

In addition, the committee also instructed the s of the board, Sylvanus Tapgun, to produce the consultant handling the recruitment exercise before today (Thursday), as well as the names of the bank accounts which the applicants were paying the money into, and the amount so far collect to date.

Uchendu, in castigating the board, said it was criminal to exploit Nigerians who are searching for employment.

“Why should a Nigerian citizen be made to pay N1, 000 for a job he was not sure of getting? This is illegal and unacceptable. In line with the resolution of the House of Representatives, the board should stop the collection of the N1,000 and as well, refund the ones already collected.