Nasarawa Govt suspends director, others over fake appointments

The state Director of Salaries Bureau, as well as all members of the Salaries Department’s staff, have been suspended with immediate effect by the Nasarawa State House of Assembly Committee on Education, Science, and Technology.

The Assembly asked Haruna Adamu Ogbole, the state Commissioner for Finance, to carry out the directive until the outcome of an investigation into the state’s bogus employment of 38 secondary school teachers.

When the management of the Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Education, and Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC) appeared before the committee yesterday in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital, Chairman of the Committee Daniel Ogazi gave the directive.

He has also directed for the sealing of the office of the state salaries Bureau pending the conclusion of an investigation into the matter.

“We hereby direct the Commissioner for Finance to suspend the Director Salaries Bureau and all members of staff of the Salaries Department pending the outcome of our investigation.

The Commissioner for Finance, Haruna Adamu Ogbole and his Education counterpart, Hajiya Fati Sabo have denied knowledge of the purported employments of the teachers as well as a directive for their inclusion into the payroll of the state government.

Mr Sulley Daheer, the Director of Salaries Bureau has said he has not received any memo and has not given any directive for the inclusion of the 38 secondary school teachers into the payroll of the state government.

Mr Anthony Ladan, a Senior Accountant in the Salaries Bureau admitted including the 38 teachers’ names into the payroll of the state government without the directive from the Commissioner of Finance and Director, Salaries Bureau.

He said he received a letter for the inclusion of the teachers into the payroll from Mr John Nuhu whom he knows as a member of staff of the Teachers Service Commission (TSC).

Ladan added that he did not know that John Nuhu has left the service when he brought the letter containing the 38 names which he claimed was from the Ministry of Education through the Commissioner of Finance without knowing that the documents are fake.

In a related development, the Assembly said it has considered the employments of 366 secondary school teachers in the state as fake because due process was not followed. The House, therefore, suspended their appointments.

The Chairman of the Committee gave the directive at a meeting with the management of the Ministry of Education and Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC) in Lafia yesterday.

Daniel Ogazi said the House was not against the employment of teachers in the state but due process must be followed to ensure that the most qualified candidates are employed.

“We have directed the suspension of the employments of 366 secondary school teachers in the state.

“We have suspended everything about the teachers’ appointments since the process that brought them was faulty, the due procedure was not followed in employing the teachers.

“This directive does not mean that we don’t want employment but due process must be followed for an improved standard of education in the state,” he said.

Ogazi has directed the state Teacher’s Service Commission to suspend its advertisement for the recruitment of new secondary school teachers.

“For now, all processes of employment of teachers should be stopped,” he added.