THE House of Representatives on Wednesday resolved to investigate ongoing recruitment exercise into the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) and other agencies under the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.
The resolution followed the adoption of a motion by Hon. Ismail Tijani (APC-Kwara) on the floor of the House. Hon Tijani stated that the NSITF is currently recruiting into management positions and alleged that only people from a particular part of the country are being recruited in the current exercise, which he said negates Federal Character principles.
According to him, the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, has been embroiled in a battle to control Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), including the NSITF.
He said that the minister had been summoned by the National Assembly for the alleged misdemeanour in 2016 and 2021 respectively. He stated that the summons followed allegations of employment irregularities, impunity, and anomalies bordering on gross abuse of office.
He said that the current recruitment process at the NSITF, alleged to be biased, can negatively affect the promotion of hardworking staff of the organisation and if allowed could prevent the country from deriving the maximum benefits from the MDAs.
The House, therefore, mandated the Committees on Federal Character and Labour, Employment and Productivity to investigate the ongoing recruitment in NSITF and other agencies under it. The lawmakers also recommended appropriate sanctions for anyone found culpable of undue favouritism and asked the committee to report back within four weeks for further legislative action.
