Abuja – The Minister of Interior, Mr Abba Moro, has promised to offer “automatic employment’’ to any applicant with information linking government officials to the alleged money-for-job scandal in his ministry.

Moro announced the reward in Abuja on Tuesday during the Senate public hearing on employment irregularities, abuse of federal character and money-for-job scam in Federal Government establishments.

The public hearing was organised by the Senate Joint Committee on Federal Character and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Labour and Employment.

He said till date, no one had come forward to name officials allegedly involved in the scam in spite of complaints over recruitments in establishments under the ministry.

He said the arrest and prosecution of government officials allegedly involved in the job scam would serve as a deterrent to others.

The minister also denied allegations that the ministry had created a job recruitment website that aided recruitment scam.

The Chairman of Federal Character Commission (FCC), Prof Oba Abdulraheem, had made the allegation on Monday on the first day of the public hearing.

But Moro said, “to the best of my knowledge, as minister of interior, we have not established any website asking for placement of either CV or applications.

“I have never officially asked anyone to place applications online.’’

He, however, said the ministry had requested approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) to engage a “private partner in e-recruitment in the Ministry of Interior’’.

He said the partnership, expected to cover various federal establishments under the ministry, would instill transparency in the recruitment exercises.

“We believe that with the process we would be able to avoid the stampede that occasioned the death of many persons when NIS advertised for recruitment recently,” he said.

Moro also said Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) recently arrested some persons involved in the money for job scam and that some had been jailed.

“The records are there for everybody to see. The Ministry of Interior under my watch has not been engaged in any unwholesome employment.

“We have made very strenuous efforts to ensure that we do not short-change Nigerian unemployed youths.

“I have said time without number that it is criminal for anyone to take money to employ unemployed youths,’’ he said.

The minister also alluded to the recruitment crisis that rocked the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) last year.

He said the recruitment was stopped because of the interim report he received on the process leading to the exercise.

He said till date no recruitment had been carried out for the 4,500 vacancies for which the NIS received a waiver from FCC.

“We are waiting for the conduct of this exercise so that we renew our approval to re-conduct the process for engagement into the NIS,’’ he said.

In his remarks during the hearing, Abdulraheem said issues of lopsided recruitments, allegations on money-for-job was very “prevalent’’ in paramilitary organisations under the ministry.

He identified NSCDC, NIS, Federal Fire Service and Nigeria Prisons Service as the culprits.

He said recent replacements done in the paramilitary organisations had always been the source of scam.

“Those replacements were done outside the purview and supervision of the FCC and they also practice under-declaration of vacancies.

“The president approves 3,000 vacancies, they declare 1,500 and the rest they operate as replacements,’’ he said.

He said chief executives of MDAs were liable for any employment irregularities under their watch and not necessarily the ministers, who were “political heads’’.

Earlier in his remarks, the Chairman of the Joint Committee, Sen. Awaisu Kuta (PDP-Niger), accused MDAs of submitting false recruitment documents to the committee.

He said in the course of the public hearing, intended to last for two months, the committee would invite some heads of federal establishments to defend their submissions.

He also expressed concern that no one had come forward to testify of having paid money for job placement in any federal establishment since the public hearing commenced.

He appealed to those who wished to testify in camera to contact his office or the committee. (NAN)