A recruitment scandal has engulfed the National Population Commission (NPC) amid claims that 46 new employees were secretly hired from Kaduna State, bypassing established protocols. 

The NPC Chairman, Mallam Nasir Isa Kwarra, is accused of masterminding the recruitment, allegedly with the backing of influential figures, including the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mallam Tajudeen Abbas, and NPC Federal Commissioner in Kaduna State, Hajiya Saadatu Garba Dogonbauchi, SaharaReporters has learnt.

The controversy centers on the hiring of candidates solely from Kaduna State, which may have violated federal character principles and guidelines governing recruitment in government agencies.

The 46 new employees, all from Kaduna State, were reportedly recruited in June and have already received their appointment letters, sources told SaharaReporters on Wednesday.

“The NPC Chairman, Mallam Nasir Isa Kwarra, allegedly orchestrated the recruitment with the tacit support of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mallam Tajudeen Abbas, and NPC Federal Commissioner in Kaduna State, Hajiya Saadatu Garba Dogonbauchi, both of whom hail from Kaduna State.

“The 46 new employees, all from Kaduna State, were reportedly recruited in June and have already received their appointment letters, thereby bypassing established federal character principles and guidelines for recruitment into Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs),” a source said. 

A recent social media post by Isah Nuhu, a politically connected figure in Kaduna, described an event where Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, presented appointment letters to ten newly hired employees of the National Population Commission (NPC) in Kaduna.

In a social media post titled ‘Speaker Abbas, secured, and share 10 letters of appointment for his constituents at the National Population Commission (NPC)', Isah Nuhu implied that the appointment letters were distributed on the day preceding his post.

Nuhu wrote: "Earlier yesterday, Speaker House of Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria, Rt. Hon. Abbas Tajudeen, PhD (lyan Zazzau), and also a member representing the good people in the Zaria federal constituency, presented the letter's (sic) appointment to ten people who secured jobs at the National Population Commission (NPC).

"The appointment letters were presented on behalf of the Speaker by the Senior Legislative Aide/Chief Constituency Offer, Alhaji Ismael Muhammad Yesko, to the following people:

"Sabo Jafar, Aliyu Ibrahim Maloli, Ahmad Yusuf, Yahaya Sani, Usman Lawal Sabo, Ibrahim Nuraddeen, Salisu Bashir Kakeyi, Aliyu Yusuf, Rashida Saad Sani, and Zahida Alhassan Musa.

"Alhaji Ismail Muhammad Yesko drowned (sic) the attention of appointees to be good ambassadors of Zaria federal constituency everywhere they find themselves and be law-abiding citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria."

Some recruitment processes in Nigeria's Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) have increasingly deviated from established federal character principles and guidelines, raising concerns about accountability. According to the FCC, one of its key objectives is to ensure that vacant positions reserved for indigenes of each federating unit are filled by the most qualified and competent candidates from those units.

The FCC states "that the best and most competent candidates from each federating units nationwide are employed to fill vacant positions meant for indigenes of such units."

The law also provides "that all fresh recruitments into the Public Service nationwide comply with the Commission Guidelines and Formulae on Equitable Distribution of Posts".

The recruitment exercise in question seems to be at odds with the FCC's established guidelines and objectives, which would cast a pall of mistrust over the process. 

The FCC mandates balanced representation from all regions and states in Nigeria, yet the alleged preferential treatment of 46 Kaduna State natives directly contradicts this principle, calling into question the integrity of the NPC’s recruitment practices.

When reached by SaharaReporters, Musa Abdullahi Krishi, Special Adviser on Media to Tajudeen Abbas, claimed he was unaware of the employment issue and requested a text message be sent to him for further details. 

However, despite receiving the text message, he failed to respond to the inquiry over 48 hours later. 

Meanwhile, when SaharaReporters contacted the NPC's Director of Public Affairs Department, Mrs Nkoyo Nwakusor, she declined to comment after initially acknowledging the call, and subsequently switched off her phone.