By George Udoh

My attention has been drawn to a misleading media report referred to as ‘Ministerial Scorecard’ published on Monday, May 27, 2013. I vehemently condemn the views and the rather uncharitable allegations made in the said publication against the Minister of Interior, Comrade Abba Moro, where the writer claimed that “Comrade Abba Moro’s tenure in office has been characterised by controversies, prominent among them being series of allegations on recruitment scam in most of the agencies under his ministry”.

Another allegation in the purported ‘Ministerial Scorecard’ is highlighted in the portion where the writer said, “Nevertheless, as stated earlier, the Minister has been enmeshed in a lot of s controversies with various allegations of nepotism, high handedness and overbearing interference in the administrative mechanism of the parastatals under the Ministry.

The most prominent of these are widely published power tussle with the immediate past comptroller General of Immigration CGI, Mrs. Rose Chinyere  Uzoma, which led to her sack, as well as the ongoing bickering over who succeeds her. There is  stalemate in the appointment of a substantive , and some of the senior officers of Immigration Service have accused the Minister of having interest  in who becomes the new CGI as he is purported to be opposed to the confirmation  of the acting CGI  Rilwan Musa”

While one is tempted to ignore these allegations, however it is pertinent to note that the issues raised and the delivery border  essentially on ignorance and sheer wickedness, and the allegations are  far from the truth.

Comrade Abba Moro

Consequently, it has become necessary to set the records straight. One, I find it inexcusable that a well respected newspaper will conduct a poll that ought to stand the test of time without  appropriate  investigation on the subject matter.

On the grave allegation of recruitment scam in the agencies under the Minister’s purview, this is pure fiction as the writer failed to back up the claim with verifiable proofs. The Honourable Minister of Interior  actually refuted the allegation before the publication. This he did during a public hearing organised by the Senate Joint Committee on Federal Character and International Affairs, Labour and Employment and the report  widely reported.

The Minister  told members of the highly revered committee that no one had come forward to name officials of the Interior Ministry allegedly involved in the scam in spite of complaints over recruitment in establishments under the ministry.

In another development, the Minister, while fielding questions from correspondents attached to the National Secretariat of the PDP, stated that some unscrupulous Nigerians had opened websites under the guise of the Interior Minister and unsuspecting Nigerians, who were desperate for employment, fell victim of the money-for-job scam. Moro, who exonerated the Interior Ministry of capability, revealed that the long arm of the law had caught up with some of the elements.

I believe the writer should have commended the  Minister for exposing the unscrupulous elements  who have been going about duping Nigerians and not to vilify him. The question begging for answer is, at what point did the Minister give credence to this nefarious act as the writer alleged?

The most disturbing aspect of the said ‘Ministerial Scorecard’ was the mix up of facts, the confusing examples and the seeming contradictions where the writer claimed  the Minister was engaged in power tussle with the former CGI which eventually led to her exit from the service.

This is misinformation. The line of authority is very clear. The Minister could not have interfered  in the day-to-day running of the para-military organisations under his ministry when they have appointed heads.

The Minister is clearly the political and administrative head of the ministry, so he does not have to struggle for the control of the para-military outfits with people who are clearly his subordinates and who report to him.

Secondly, the Minister had no role in the exit of the former CGI from the NIS. It was the Presidency that directed Mrs Uzoma  to proceed on terminal leave and not the Minister. Besides, the GCI admitted that her tenure was over.

The “reality” of the achievements of Comrade Abba Moro in the ‘Ministerial Scorecard’ is  unbalanced. It does not capture the efforts put in place by the Minister in the Federal Fire Service, where over 1,000 officers and men drawn from public and private organisations across the country have been trained to enhance efficiency in combating fire disasters  in the country.

The publication said nothing about the completion of a storey block for about two hundred and twelve inmates of Kano Central Prison to decongest  the place; nothing was said about the completion of a storey block for the 136 inmates of Aba Prison.

The achievements that I read in the ‘Ministerial Scorecard’ didn’t tell me that during the period  under review, Comrade Moro commissioned a passport office complex annex  at  NIS  Headquarters, and  did not also report the completion of the Passport Office in Alausa, Lagos to provide adequate facilities for the e-passport, as well as the commissioning of the Zonal Passport Office in Lagos.

And more importantly, the report said nothing about the efforts at ensuring that e-passports machines are installed in our missions abroad, thereby relieving Nigerians of the excruciating pains of obtaining  e-passports. The writer chose not to present the Minister properly. The report is malicious, premeditated, biased, ill-conceived, unprofessional and condemnable putting it side by side with the achievements of the Minister.