Abbas Jimoh (Abuja), Dickson Adama & Ado Abubakar Musa (Jos)
The Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC) has called for an immediate investigation of the director-general of the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Mr Joseph N. Ari, over nepotism, wrongful appointments and marginalisation of Muslims in the running of the agency.
The director of MURIC, Professor Ishaq Akintola, who made the call on Friday in a statement, noted that there were lots challenges at the ITF, Jos, Plateau State, with nepotism being at its peak in the agency as wrongful employment of Plateau indigenes is the rule of the day.
According to him, of the 487 staff employed by Ari in 2019, only 90 were Muslims, and that this is just 18.48 per cent, while Christians were 81.52 per cent.
“In the first place, the appointment of the present director-general of the agency, Mr Joseph N. Ari, did not follow due process. He was first employed into the ITF in 2006 as deputy director on a permanent and pensionable basis after retiring as a permanent secretary in the Plateau civil service,” he said.
But in his reaction, the ITF’s director, Public Affairs Department, Suleyol Fred-Changu said, “The director-general is a devoted Christian, whose lineage, including his direct siblings is populated by both religions of Islam and Christianity. As a result of this, he does not believe in nepotism and tribalism and does not indulge in religious bigotry.”
He said the recruitment exercise of 2019 followed all due processes and was coordinated by the Federal Character Commission, which even issued a letter of compliance to the Fund after the exercise, adding that the allegations are a figment of the imagination of the author.
On the allegation that the appointment of the director-general did not follow due process, Fred-Changu said the he withdrew his services from the state service and joined the ITF in 2007 when he had not served up to 35 years, nor was he of the retirement age.
