APC Raises Alarm Over last-minute Looting Jonathan administration allegedly plans to do

According to the APC in a statement signed by Lai Mohammed, its national publicity secretary, there seems to be a plan to engage in last-minute looting of the nation’s resources, hurried recruitment into the public service and rushed privatisation of key financial institutions by the Goodluck Jonathan administration

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The All Progressives Congress is not comfortable with some of the last minute actions allegedly planned by the Goodluck Jonathan administration which has just about a month left before handing over power.

According to the APC in a statement signed by Lai Mohammed, its national publicity secretary, there seems to be a plan to engage in last-minute looting of the nation’s resources, hurried recruitment into the public service and rushed privatisation of key financial institutions by the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

It warned against actions like that.

APC said while the Jonathan administration remains in office till midnight of May 28, and governance in the country would not stop because a new President had been elected, it was incumbent upon the outgoing administration not to create more problems for the incoming government, or to “tie the new government’s hands” through suspicious actions.

The party warned that it could still probe actions taken after the presidential elections were conducted even though it promised not not get itself bogged down by an endless probe of the activities of the Jonathan administration, all actions taken since the result of the March 28 presidential election was announced, might come under the searchlight.

It listed some of the issues it has with the actions of the outgoing administration:

1. APC worried that the National Council on Privatisation, which is headed by the Vice President, has just approved the financial bid opening for transaction advisers for the privatisation of the three Development
Finance Institutions in the country – the Bank of Agriculture, Bank of Industry and Nigeria Commodity Exchange. It wondered why the exercise was being rushed with just weeks left for this administration.

2. APC worried about a planned, hurried recruitment into the Nigeria Immigration Service, “after a previous attempt ended in a national tragedy and the fleecing of innocent job seekers by the mindless Federal Government officials. Apart from the fact that this last-minute recruitment is suspect, it is irregular.

”The Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Services Board is only empowered to recruit, promote and discipline only senior officers (Levels 8 and above). The power to recruit, promote and discipline junior officers is vested in the different services, in this case, the Nigeria Immigration Service.

”Therefore, the recruitment exercise now being conducted by the Federal Civil Service, under the auspices of the Presidential Committee to Assist on Immigration Recruitment, usurps the functions of the Board as it relates to recruitment of Senior Officers (Level 08) and that of the Immigration Service as it relates to Junior Officers (levels 07 and below).”

3. APC expressed worry over a published report that the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed, plans to use the Federal Capital Development Authority to carry out a secret employment of no fewer than 500 workers before the end of April 2015.

“We do not know if this report, as well as others, is true. But if indeed these rushed privatisations and hurried recruitment exercises – in the twilight of the Jonathan administration – are true, they raise serious questions concerning the reasons behind such actions. We are therefore compelled to call on President Jonathan to caution his administration officials, lest they engage in actions that can later embarrass his administration,” said the statement.