· This is an outright lie – Management
The management of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) is currently
enmeshed in job racketeering running into N1.2 billion bribery proceeds,
CORRUPTION REPORTER can exclusively report.
An investigation by CORRUPTION REPORTER has revealed that some senior
officials of FIRS have been secretly selling job slots for N2 million
each.
It was also discovered that those involved in the 600 jobs racketeering
are enjoying the backing and protection of the top management.
This could explain why these senior officials of FIRS appear to have so
perfected their skills in job racketeering that even the COVID-19
lockdown and restrictions could not stop them from the illicit trade.
The FIRS management has, however, in a reaction, denied the allegation
of any job racketeering among its senior staff members.
Reacting through the director, Communications and Liaison, Dr Abdullahi
Ismaila Ahmad, the FIRS dismissed the allegation as “outright lie.”
The allegation of job racketeering is, not only a case of bribery and
financial crime, it is also a gross violation of guiding principles of
federal character which are equity and fairness.
It would be recalled that in October 2019, the FIRS was fingered, along
with other government agencies, in some job racketeering.
The only difference between the 2019 job racketeering and the 2020
dishonest and fraudulent business dealings is in the illegal job slot
fee charged by the senior officials of the FIRS.
When the Senate launched an investigation into the matter in 2019, it
was discovered that some agencies were selling a single employment slot
for as high as N1.5 million, FIRS inclusive.
What the FIRS senior officials have, therefore, done in 2020 barely nine
months later, was to hike the bribery fee.
The affected agencies in the 2019 job racketeering were, the Federal
Inland Revenue Service (FIRS); National Drugs Law Enforcement Agency
(NDLEA); National Space Research and Development Agency, and the
National Open University.
Others include the Federal Civil Service Commission; the University of
Abuja Teaching Hospital; Rural Electrification Agency and the Nigerian
Navy.
