The House of Representatives’ special committee investigating allegations of job racketeering and mismanagement of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) by Federal Government agencies has issued a renewed summons to the agencies that previously declined to attend the inquiry.
Furthermore, the committee has indicated its readiness to exert its legislative authority in order to ensure cooperation from the concerned agencies.
In a statement released on Saturday in Abuja, Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, who chairs the committee, conveyed his displeasure. He emphasized that ignoring these invitations amounts to showing contempt for the legislative process and cautioned that there would be serious repercussions.
Gagdi expressed disappointment regarding the deliberate reluctance of multiple agencies to participate in the committee’s proceedings, despite receiving multiple invitation letters and having notifications published in national newspapers.
Gagdi criticized this behavior as a calculated effort by the implicated agencies to impede the committee’s important work, emphasizing that this obstructionist approach would not be tolerated.
He disclosed that notices for the hearings were disseminated through prominent national newspapers and directly to the respective agency offices to ensure their presence.
According to Gagdi, the committee had formally requested the agencies to provide pertinent information regarding their recruitment activities. Regrettably, these requests were disregarded, which he considered a display of contempt toward the legislature.
Gagdi underlined that the ministries singled out in the newspaper publications were expected to appear before the committee as scheduled, as their details had already been publicized.
According to reports from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the concerned agencies are required to attend the committee’s hearings between the dates of August 24 and 31.
