ICPC Petitioned To Probe FG Agency Over Fraud, Promotion Racket

The Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC) has been petitioned over alleged sharp practices in the Librarian Registration Council of Nigeria (LRCN).

A petition signed by one Agbenu Agaba and addressed to the chairman of the ICPC accused the council under the leadership of the acting registrar, Jafaru Abdulahi Wase, of siphoning millions of naira through various schemes.

The petition, which was seen by THE WHISTLER, alleged that junior officers in the LRCN are listed for workshops/seminars they do not attend while Duty Tour Allowance (DTA) is paid to them.

The petitioner accused Wase and the Deputy Director, Finance and Administration, Adetimi Adeyanju, of receiving kickbacks from the junior officers after the payment of DTA to them.

Agaba also accused the acting registrar of plotting to impose a successor with the conduct of a promotion exam which he described as shoddy and hasty.

“Junior officers are listed for workshops/seminars that they do not attend, DTA is paid to them for a number of days, and they hand back a substantial part of the money to the Acting Registrar through the Deputy Director, Finance/Administration. A paltry sum of the money is left with them for their cooperation,” the petition partly read.

“The process of the promotion was so shoddy and hasty that the questions were handwritten and photocopies made at a business centre. By this process, questions leaked to some anointed participants, thereby compromising the process. Also, no management staff was called upon to participate in the planning, execution or invigilation of the exam process,” it added.

The petitioner, who listed the names of the officers who received the illegal DTA, prayed to ICPC to make them refund the money to the federation account while appealing to the anti-corruption agency to probe all expenditures of the council from November 2021 to date.

On the promotion exams, the petitioner urged the ICPC to cancel or put it on hold till investigations are concluded and reconvened later with only eligible officers allowed to participate with all the necessary safeguards put in place to ensure the integrity of the process.

Meanwhile, credible sources confirmed to THE WHISTLER that the acting Registrar and the Deputy Director of Finance and Administration have been asked by Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to declare their assets and bring copies of their bank transactions in the last 2 years.

Wase Responds

Wase denied knowledge of the petition when THE WHISTLER reached out to him to respond to the substance of the allegations. He also denied receiving kickbacks from DTA paid to junior staff.

On the issue of promotion exams, the acting registrar said that although it was true that questions were written by hand, but the council followed due process and independent observers were invited to monitor the exercise.

“The examination followed due process, we invited all those who are concerned, from all walks of life, including the Federal Character Commission, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Finance, and we even had representatives of the ICPC, so, we conducted the exams, and sent the result to the minister and he has given the approval and we’ve communicated the outcome of the promotion to the concerned officers,” he said

He also confirmed that the FIRS requested him to declare his assets, which was the first time the commission will make such a demand.

“They just sent a form to us, three of us – I, the DD information, and the DD finance/admin –  which we have filled and sent back to them, this is the first time they are sending the form to us.