The chairman of the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Dr Muheeba Dankaka, has been accused of lying to avoid an ongoing probe of an alleged employment racketeering in the Commission.
Commissioner representing Delta State on the Commission, Moses Anaughe, made the accusation before the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The House of Representatives is conducting an investigating hearing on alleged job racketeering and gross mismanagement of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) in the country.
Dr Dankaka was billed to appear before the House of Representatives Adhoc Committee. But she was said to have sent in a letter, claiming that she had an appointment with her medical doctor.
In her stead, Armayau Abubakar, the commissioner representing Taraba State on the Commission, appeared before the House Committee.
Abubakar earlier presented a letter to the House Committee from Dankaka in which she stayed that she was unavoidably absent due to a medical appointment with her doctor.
Abubakar therefore appealed that the Commission should be given a new date to come with the required documents as requested by the House Committee.
Subsequent upon the appeal, the Chairman of the House Adhoc Committee, Honourable Yusuf Gagdi, moved that the request of the Commission be granted.
The drama unfolded when Anaughe, who came in after the proceedings had commenced, raised his hand to be identified.
When he was acknowledged, Anaughe openly told the House Adhoc Committee that the chairman’s representatives were lying and that she was in her office and not sick as claimed.
He pointedly said the FCC chairman was not in the hospital but seated in her office as at 12noon when the hearing was ongoing.
He claimed that it was the usual character of the FCC chairman to be dodging invitations of the National Assembly.
Anaughe added that it was not the first time such was happening. Her usual habit was to send commissioners to represent her at investigative hearings, he said.
“I want to stress that this is her usual excuse for various committees that invited her. I should be on record.
“If she wants to collect 10 per cent of employment, she sees that the Chief Executive must come one on one with her. Why is she not here?,” Anaughe stated.
Subsequent upon the disclosure, Honourable Gaza Gbuefi move a motion that the earlier resolution for a new date should be rescinded.
The FCC commissioners present during the investigative hearing were thus put under oath.
Honourable Gagdi therefore ordered that Dankaka and the FCC 37 commissioners appear unfailingly before the House Adhoc Committee by 11am tomorrow.
