“How 1,839 privileged elites were hired by CBN, FIRS and NPS” – Group

The Citizens of Impact on Wednesday, July 27, 2016 took to the streets of Abuja to protest what they referred to as “targeted recruitment of some family members of highly placed Nigerians” into various government agencies.

The group alleged that 909 Nigerians were secretly recruited into the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), 400 into the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) and 530 people at the Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS).

Convener of the group, Daniel Seun Olatunde said the recruitment was done “under the table” as there was no public advertisement of the positions.

“The Nigerian Prisons Service (NPS) under the Controller-General, Ahmed Ja’afaru and minister of interior, Abdulrahaman Dambazau hired 530 recruits around May/June 2016 without following the established process of public service recruitment”, he said.

“While Mr Babatunde Fowler (the executive chairman of the FIRS) was perjuring himself before the Senate and lying barefaced to Nigerians, deceiving people to submit CVs to the FIRS, he had already recruited about 400 of his cronies and relatives of other government officials and those of privileged elites including those of the Senate Committee on Finance, John Owan Enoh and the Reps Minority Leader, Leo Ogor.

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“The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on its part, secretly recruited 909 staff between June 2014 and February 2015 in violation of due process and Federal Character Principles all in an attempt to carry out their targeted recruitment,” he added.

The protest which took off from the Unity Fountain saw protesters match to the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSFG).

The SGF who was at the Federal Executive Council Meeting was however represented by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Policy Development and Analysis, Ibrahim Bapetel Hassan.

Hassan assured the group that the allegations would be investigated adding that culprits would be prosecuted in line with President Muhammadu Buhari’s zero level tolerance to corruption.