ICPC, FCC set up joint task force to curb job racketeering, unfair recruitment

By Favour Ulebor, Abuja

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Federal Character Commission (FCC) have agreed to establish a Joint Task Force to tackle job racketeering and promote fairness in recruitment across federal government agencies.

The decision was announced on Thursday during a strategic meeting between the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), and the Acting Executive Chairman of FCC, Dr. Kayode Oledele, at the FCC headquarters in Abuja.

Dr. Aliyu said the collaboration aims to address the growing number of complaints from young Nigerians who allege being denied employment due to backdoor recruitments and nepotism in public service hiring processes.

“We are seeing a lot of job racketeering in the public sector,” he said. “Almost daily, ICPC receives complaints from young Nigerians who were denied jobs because recruitment was done through the backdoor. Some top officials give jobs mostly to people from their villages or states, and that is unfair.”

Dr. Aliyu cited examples of gross imbalance in some agencies, including instances where a single official allegedly allocated 94 job slots to his state, resulting in one geopolitical zone receiving 189 slots in two years, more than double the number allocated to other zones.

“In one agency, a state accounts for 65.72% of total staff, while others have less than 1%. In another, one state has 12.9% of the workforce, while others have as low as 0.4%. Is this fair?” he queried.

He warned that continued imbalance could erode public trust in government institutions, adding that the proposed task force would monitor recruitment exercises, share intelligence, and prevent employment abuses before they occur.

“We must speak the truth to Nigerians. This partnership will show that equity, fairness, and justice can work together to build a better country,” he said. “Let us sign an MOU and make this official within two weeks.”

Dr. Aliyu noted that the ICPC will continue to conduct system reviews in federal agencies and share findings with the FCC for further action.

Responding, FCC Acting Chairman, Dr. Kayode Oledele, welcomed the initiative and confirmed the Commission’s readiness to work closely with ICPC to restore fairness and unity in federal recruitment.

“The Federal Character Commission is a regulatory body. Our mandate is to ensure that public positions and opportunities are distributed equitably across all states, local governments, and regions,” Oledele said.

He disclosed that the FCC had recently directed all government agencies to submit their nominal rolls for a “character balance index” assessment, warning that any agency that fails to comply will face enforcement.

“When one state has more job slots than others, it creates injustice. And injustice to one is injustice to all,” Oledele said. “We owe it to the next generation to fix this problem today.”

He confirmed the Commission’s agreement to form a Joint Task Force with ICPC, noting that future recruitment monitoring would be conducted jointly.

The planned Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between both agencies is expected to formalize their collaboration in the coming weeks.

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