APC Warns Against Last-minute Looting, THE PUNCH.

The All Progressives Congress has decried the
reported allegations of last-minute looting of the
nation’s resources, hurried recruitment into the
public service and rushed privatisation of key
financial institutions by the Goodluck Jonathan
administration.
It warned on Sunday that such “egregious
actions”
would have serious repercussions.
In a statement in Lagos by its National Publicity
Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said
apart
from the instances of such cases that had been
reported by the local media, it had been
inundated
with calls and messages by concerned Nigerians,
alerting it to the unscrupulous actions of some
Jonathan’s administration officials.
APC said while the Jonathan administration
remains
in office till midnight of May 28, and governance
in
the country would not stop because a new
President
had been elected, it was incumbent upon the
outgoing administration not to create more
problems
for the incoming government, or to “tie the new
government’s hands” through suspicious actions.
The party explained that while it is true that the
incoming Muhammadu Buhari administration
would
not get itself bogged down by an endless probe
of the
activities of the Jonathan administration, all actions
taken since the result of the March 28 presidential
election was announced, might come under the
searchlight.
It added, ”For example, the National Council on
Privatisation, which is headed by the Vice
President,
has just approved the financial bid opening for
transaction advisers for the privatisation of the
three
Development Finance Institutions in the country –
the
Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry and Nigeria
Commodity Exchange.
“The question is: What is the rationale for rushing
this exercise with just weeks left for this
administration?
”Also, there have been reports, yet to be refuted,
of a
planned, hurried recruitment into the Nigeria
Immigration Service, after a previous attempt
ended
in a national tragedy and the fleecing of innocent
job
seekers by the mindless Federal Government
officials. Apart from the fact that this last-minute
recruitment is suspect, it is irregular.
”The Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons
Services Board is only empowered to recruit,
promote and discipline only senior officers (Levels
8
and above). The power to recruit, promote and
discipline junior officers is vested in the different
services, in this case, the Nigeria Immigration
Service.
”Therefore, the recruitment exercise now being
conducted by the Federal Civil Service, under the
auspices of the Presidential Committee to Assist
on
Immigration Recruitment, usurps the functions of
the
Board as it relates to recruitment of Senior
Officers
(Level 08) and that of the Immigration Service as
it
relates to Junior Officers (levels 07 and below).”