By Anthony Ochela, Abuja
Staff of the Federal Character Commission, FCC, yesterday barricaded the entrance into the commission’s headquarters in Abuja, in protest over the alleged maladministration, high-handedness, corruption and general incompetence by the chairman.
The protesters accused the Executive Chairman of the commission, Dr Muheeba Dankaka, of abuse of office and violation of the commission’s mandate as stipulated in its establishment act.
Pointing out that Dr Dankaka had completed her first term of five years in office, the staff prayed President Bola Tinubu not to make the mistake of reappointing her for another term, as it would spell doom for the mandate and fortunes of the commission.
The protesting workers demanded urgent action to address what they described as years of high-handedness and mismanagement under Dankaka’s leadership.
They urged President Tinubu to launch a comprehensive investigation into the finances and administrative decisions of the commission from 2020 till date, saying only a thorough probe would reveal the extent of the alleged abuse.
Some of the major grievances echoed by some of the protesters who spoke to journalists was the alleged illegal stoppage of salaries of over 50 staff without due process.
According to them, training has been suspended for long, the commission has no sense of direction and despite getting to the end of her five-year tenure, Dankaka is lobbying for reappointment.
They also accused her of being in possession of questionable educational certificates, nepotism, irregular recruitment and lack of empathy for staff welfare.
The workers displayed placards with inscriptions such as ‘Nigeria is one,’ ‘She must go, she stopped my salary for two months,’ ‘We are stronger together, our voices must be heard,’ ‘No to sale of Certificates of Compliance & Waivers in FCC.’
Speaking with journalists, one of the protesters who gave her name as Comrade Deborah said “we are here to tell the president, the legislature and all stakeholders that since the inception of this commission, we have been working smoothly and have never had a chairman as worse as this.
“We are not here to fight as we are career civil servants. We are pleading with Mr President not to return Dankaka because her previous five years were years of doom for the commission.
“Already, the commission is dilapidated, her coming back will signify its burial.
“A lot of staff have died because of her maladministration,” she said.
Addressing the commission’s chairman directly, Deborah said “Dankaka please leave civil service alone. You know nothing about administration. Please go back to your shop.”
Also speaking, Comrade Adepoju Sherrif Oyewole from the Lagos office said: “The Federal Character Commission under Dankaka has made a mess of the federal character principle.
“She has made nepotism a specialty in recruitment.
“We heard that even the federal commissioners had at a point tried to guide her but she insists on running the commission at her own whims.
“Not just the commissioners, everyone even detected that her educational background was questionable, but she went to the school in question and ironed out the issue in a way many also find questionable.
“The school first denied she was not its graduate, but they later backed her.”
On training, a staff named Albdulsamad accused the chairman of ignorance of civil service rules regarding education.
He said the chairman recalled those of them on study leave with pay, saying they did not get her approval.
