Haruna Kolo, a former desk officer for the Federal Character Commission’s (FCC) Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) who was accused of soliciting money from individuals in exchange for job offers, admitted doing so at the request of FCC’s chairman, Farida Dankaka.
He also claimed that Dankaka instructed him to send the money to his personal bank account and pay it to her in cash at several meetings held at her home.
Kolo said that after leaving FCC on November 2, 2022, to start working for Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria AMCON, he continued to receive salary from the company twice. He said he notified this to the FCC human resource officer, who assured him that the situation would be resolved and that there was no problem.
He said: “When she came to Federal Character Commission as the executive chairman, she appointed me as a protocol officer and I carried out my duty diligently.
“On the allegations of job racketeering, the FCC chairman instructed me to liaise with one Mr Shehu, who is a personal driver and PA to Taraba State commissioner.
”As a desk officer, I’m responsible to take whoever is employed to IPPIS for capturing No one can go there without a letter from the chairman or the human resource officer of FCC.
“When she came, she wrote a letter to the Accountant General instructing that no letter from FCC should be honoured except she signs the letter. So, whenever there were new employments, she signs, gives to me and I take to the Accountant General’s Office for capturing.
“Shehu is the one that brought those who paid money to my account for job, some paid N1million, others N1.5 million all to my personal account. She asked me to give cash to her which I did through POS, so there is no evidence of transfer or anything.
“On the allegation of working at seven places, I was never at anytime involved in seven jobs, they are making the allegation, based on assumption.
”The second allegation on my subsequent employment to AMCON, that was as a result of her personal favour to me, we were four in number.”
