Federal character commission chair exposed at reps panel

There was an intense drama as one of the Commissioners in the Federal Character Commission (FCC) exposed the Chairman of the Commission, Muheeba Dankaka before the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee investigative hearing on Tuesday.

The Ad-hoc Committee headed by Yusuf Adamu Gagdi (APC, Plateau) was set up to investigate federal ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), parastatals and tertiary institutions on mismanagement of personnel recruitment, employment racketeering and gross mismanagement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

The FCC Chairperson had earlier in a letter delivered by some commissioners informed the committee that she had an appointment with her doctor, hence her inability to appear before the committee and had assigned some commissioners to make presentations on her behalf which the committee agreed to.

The Commissioner representing Taraba State in the Commission, Armaya’u Garba Abubakar who spoke on behalf of the others before the committee asked the committee to give the FCC one week to present more documents required but not included among the ones presented.

However, things took a new turn when the Commissioner representing Delta State, Moses Anaughe who came in much later, told the Committee that, the FCC Chairperson was hale and hearty and in her office, saying that she did not have any appointment with her doctor but only wanted to dodge the committee’s invitation.

He said, “As we speak, she is in her office. You can confirm. She is in her office as we speak”.

Two other Commissioners present at the investigative hearing corroborated the Delta FCC Commissioner’s claim.

However, the FCC Commissioner representing Taraba said the letter was given to the commission’s secretary, Mohammed Bello Tukur by the Chairperson before they left for the National Assembly.

Chairman and members of the committee who were visbly infuriated accused some of the commissioners of lying to the Parliament on Oath.

Chairman of the committee demanded that the chairperson and all the 37 FCC commissioners appear before it on Wednesday.

The Taraba FCC Commissioner however told the committee that some of them were outside Abuja on assignments, an excuse refuted by the commissioner representing Delta who said all the commissioners were in Abuja.

But, the Taraba FCC commissioner insisted that the commissioners representing Yobe and Oyo are out on assignments saying that the one representing Yobe was in Maiduguri while he cannot recall where the other one was.

He further informed the committee that there are now only 36 commissioners at the FCC as one of them is now a member of the House.

Chairman of the committee who agreed on the number of commissioners however ruled that the FCC Chairperson must appear with all the 36 commissioners before 11:00am on Wednesday.