The House of Representatives has threatened to invoke its constitutional power on IPPIS, the Budget Office and the Assets Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON) over failure to appear before it in an ongoing job racketeering probe.

The threat was made by Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, chairman of the ad hoc committee investigating job racketeering and mismanagement of IPPIS in MDAs in Abuja on Wednesday.

Mr Gagdi said the committee was in a dilemma why IPPIS and the budget office were absent at the meeting.

The committee subsequently summoned the Accountant General of the Federation to bring along the IPPIS officer before the committee on August 10, adding that any further attempt to run away would be resisted.

He also queried why Haruna Kolo, the prime suspect in the FCC job racketeering saga, did not appear before the committee after he was asked to present himself on Wednesday.

“I also don’t know why Kolo is not coming back to appear before this committee; he seems to have absconded. I will sign a letter to AMCON to produce Kolo on Thursday.

“It is better he listen to us unless he is acting a script and selling lies to us; he should come so we can interact with him. We owe everybody the duty of care.

“We need him by 10:00 a.m. tomorrow, the clerk of the committee should call AMCON on the phone and tell them to produce Kolo, or do they know what Kolo is hiding,” he asked.

He further said Mr Kolo should appear tomorrow or else the committee would exercise its constitutional power, adding that he is a staff of AMCON unless he wants to lose his job and miss his freedom.

Meanwhile, Abdulrahman Ibrahim, a witness in the ongoing investigation on job racketeering, has faulted claimed by some commissioners in FCC that they had not been given any slot since they were appointed.

Mr Ibrahim, a beneficiary of the job racketeering and the Personal Assistant to the commissioner representing Taraba said, ” All the commissioners were given slots.”

According to him, they were given two slots each per state. There was an interview, and other processes followed in 2023.

Also, Yisha’u Gambo, the driver to the commissioner representing Taraba, who spoke in Hausa, said he collected N2 million for Mr Kolo, which a job seeker paid.

“Kolo met me and said I should talk to people that need employment so that he could talk to them. Then he called me to bring one person, and I said there are many that have been talking to him and that they were willing to buy a slot,” Mr Gambo said.

The investigation continues Thursday as witnesses and the affected MDAs have been ordered to appear. 

(NAN)