The Federal Character Commission (FCC) has ordered an immediate suspension of the recruitment of lawyers, engineers and other allied professionals into the service of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC).
This according to the FCC follows serial violation of recruitment procedure by the NDDC and total disregard for the FCC’s Enabling Act.
This is just as the FCC said records available to it indicate that the staff distribution pattern in the NDDC was heavily tilted in favour of the indigenes of a few states of the federation to the detriment of an overwhelming majority of the others, in clear violation of provisions of the constitution and the FCC Enabling Act.
A letter addressed to the Managing Director of NDDC, dated May 9, 2012 and signed by the Director Legal and Prosecution, FCC, Mr. M.O Odusanya which LEADERSHIP obtained yesterday said the petroleum and environment committee of the FCC had met with representatives of the NDDC where the committee expressed displeasure over persistent violation of its guidelines and formulae by the NDDC.
According to the letter, the committee chairman had elaborated on the constitutional mandate of the commission, its powers and modes of operation and urged the NDDC to with specific reference to its advertisements for various vacancies, furnish it with the long and short lists of applicants and invite the commission to monitor the selection tests and recruitment interviews.
“Regrettably, however, your management has refused, failed and or neglected to comply with the above requirements. Information at our disposal indicate that your management is in the process of concluding the recruitment exercise without paying regard to the provisions of our aforesaid circular letter and to our previous letters on the subject,” a part of the letter read.