• Lawmaker alleges over 80% of successful candidates are non-indigenes, challenges FRSC to verify list
A member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Chinedu Ogah, has accused the Federal Road Safety Corps of allegedly filling its Ebonyi State recruitment quota with non-indigenes, demanding an immediate review of the list of successful candidates.
Ogah, who represents Ikwo/Ezza South Federal Constituency, alleged that more than 80 per cent of those listed under the Ebonyi quota in the ongoing FRSC recruitment exercise were not genuine indigenes of the state.
The lawmaker, in a statement on Thursday, further alleged that some applicants secured places on the list with forged identification certificates, thereby depriving qualified Ebonyi indigenes of the opportunity to benefit from the federal recruitment exercise.
He called on the FRSC Corps Marshal and Chief Executive Officer, Shehu Mohammed, to urgently institute a fresh verification of the Ebonyi quota and ensure that only genuine indigenes are retained.
Ogah, who chairs the House Committee on Reformatory Institutions, described the alleged irregularity as unacceptable and a violation of the federal character principle guiding recruitment into federal institutions.
“The Corps Marshal of FRSC should review the list for Ebonyi quota in the ongoing recruitment exercise because the names in the Ebonyi list are not Ebonyi people,” Ogah said.
The lawmaker challenged the FRSC management to organise a physical verification exercise for the beneficiaries listed under the Ebonyi quota, insisting that the indigene status of the candidates should be subjected to scrutiny.
“If the Corps argues this, there should be a physical parade of those candidates they enlisted as Ebonyi people. Let us come and show them that those candidates are carrying fake identification certificates,” he alleged.
Ogah said the FRSC should correct the alleged anomaly by replacing any candidate found not to be a genuine indigene of Ebonyi State with qualified applicants from the state.
“The Corps should immediately enlist real Ebonyi people into the ongoing recruitment exercise because Ebonyi quota can't be given to those that are not indigenes of the state.
“They should obey the federal character rules which stipulate that every employment must be done equitably and genuinely,” he said.
He added, “They should not tag people they enlisted as Ebonyi people because they are not our people. Over 80 per cent of those they enlisted for Ebonyi State are not indigenes of the state.”
The federal lawmaker urged the FRSC to conduct the review transparently and in accordance with applicable recruitment guidelines, saying the process should guarantee equal opportunity to qualified applicants and uphold the integrity of the federal character principle.
The allegations could not be independently verified as of press time.
