Allegations of fraud, ghost workers rock NSCDC

Abolurin

Hundreds of members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC) in Lagos State have alleged fraud of the highest order against the corps top hierarchy.

According to those of them who spoke with the Nigerian Compass on behalf of others, those of them who are volunteers are being continually marginalised and treated like ‘slaves.’

They explained that the least number of those in Lagos caught in this disheartening situation were over 2000, while there were still others in other states, in the same predicament.

They claimed that for years now, no salary or whatsoever payment had been given to them even though they were the set of people in NSCDC who worked more than the others who are on the Federal Government’s payroll and considered as ‘regular, staff or captured’ members of NSCDC.

 According to them, rather than pay volunteers who work round the clock, the Corps seems to prefer to pay ‘ghost workers’ planted in the system by top ranking officers in NSCDC.  They also alleged nepotism in the Corps.

They said that there was a time those of them who are volunteers, agitated that their efforts should be compensated, no matter how little the money. The agitation paid off, as the NSCDC decided to be paying them N30, 000 every three months. But sadly, that money had not been regularly received.

Reacting to these allegations however, the NSCDC national spokesman, Mr. Emmanuel Okeh, maintained that the volunteers were not been truthful and were malicious.

One of the volunteers : “After that agreement to pay us N30, 000 every three months, cheques to that effect were issued, but only twice, spanning six months. And that was in 2009. Some of us even collected only once. Some didn’t collect at all! We feel that the money is still being paid by the government to NSCDC, but somebody, somewhere, somehow is diverting the money from getting to us!”

Stressing that they were heartily sick and tired of the ongoing fraud, the volunteers insisted that they wanted the Federal Government to investigate this alleged fraud and cleanse the system. Part of the cleansing would be to make them “regular staff as it is supposed to be!”

Another added that one of the most galling frauds was the use of ghost workers, who were actually children of top officers, still in school to collect salaries from NSCDC.

His words: “Some of these our bosses used to put the names of their children on NSCDC pay roll as ‘staff’. The truth of the matter is that these children are still in school. But every month, every time its time to collect salary, their parents, who are the top people in NSCDC will collect the salary on behalf of these children.”

The question however is this; are volunteers entitled to salaries, fielding that question, Mr. Okeh said: “Go and check, you’ll find that there’s no where on earth that people who are volunteers are paid salaries.”

But the volunteers have a different answer to that question.

They explained that a good number of them joined the Corps as far back as 1986 and 1982, when NSCDC was not recognized. They said that those were the days were NSCDC’s job description was just to make sure people didn’t sell on roadsides or cook and eat in dirty cafeterias.

But since then however, NSCDC has come a long way. It is not only recognized today by the government, but further job descriptions had been added to their duties. The height of the Corps attainment was the approval of government for the members to be allowed to carry and use arms.

There was high hope from the old volunteers that their efforts would soon be recognized, especially now that NSCDC was beginning to collect salaries. Their hopes were however dashed to pieces.

“When NSCDC became recognized, government ordered that the volunteers should be made regular staff. We were even asked to go to Teslim Balogun Square, Surulere, to write series of exams, which we did. On some of the exam days, we used to get home as late as 1: am. Yet none of us were made regular staff. Rather out new Commandant-General, Mr. Ade Abolurin went to his village in Ogun State to recruit new people. Some of these new intakes later told us that they were in their homes when the forms were brought to them,” alleged one of the volunteers.

He continued: “These are people who are not even interested in the work. Yet those of us who have interest are not absorbed to become regulars. Those of us whom they call volunteers today were given all sorts of trainings on fire-fighting, medical, rescue, detection, first aid, among others. We’re now being used today to train the new intakes. We’re nothing but modern slaves! Our situation is like ‘monkey dey work, baboon dey chop.’  We’ll write exams, but won’t see our results and when we eventually see the list of those taken, the names would all be people from Ogun State!

“We are assigned to different companies as guards. We are assigned to exam centres, elections, hospitals, yet we’re not paid! We do all the works while the ‘regulars’ stay in offices. We’re just like casual workers! We want government to make us ‘regular’ staff too. Many volunteers have died fighting and waiting to be absorbed. We’re not happy. We’ve prayed and fasted on this issue.”

When the Nigerian Compass spoke with Ade Abolurin via phone, he described the volunteers as being economical with the truth.

But his spokesman, Okeh took time to explain. According to him, there was nothing good in life that anybody did, which some people would not term to be bad.  He explained that Abolurin had repeatedly gone out of his way to fight and table before the government the need to absorb the volunteers.

In fact, the N30, 000 payment, in every three months was one of the grand gestures from Abolurin to assist the volunteers said Okeh.

He said: “The Corps started in 1967 as a voluntary body, living on subvention, and support until 2003 when government made it a governing body.  In 2003 government, said that out of the twelve thousand and five hundred personnel, there should be room for regulars. In 2005 when Ade Abolurin came on board, he made agitations that government should allow him recruit about 5000.  It was accepted; the commands asked the volunteers in different states to forward their names. In 2009, when there was a shortfall, probably due to death or some persons left, he recruited 1000. In 2009, Federal government now declared vacancy for both volunteers and those outside the Corps. This means that the volunteers and other persons could apply. It also means that the Corps had gone beyond the level where anyone could leave others and employ only volunteers.”

Okeh continued: “The N30, 000 that they were being paid every three months was out of Abolurin’s volition. The money is sourced from NSCDC security vault. These people are just volunteers; government has not given them employment. There’s nowhere, where volunteers are paid. Government had not made provision for them.  If some of them are now complaining of not receiving that N30, 000, it means they were not at their duty posts and didn’t go for verification exercise, which would enable them to collect the money.”

According to Okeh, it was better for the volunteers to ask questions, if there were issues they were not clear about, rather than speculate that somebody was embezzling money.

“Embezzlement is a wrong notion,” insisted Okeh. “As a volunteer, the option is open. If you want to continue to work with NSCDC, fine, but if not, go! They don’t have any letters of appointment. Even right now, Abolurin is begging government to allow him to recruit some of these volunteers. And because they didn’t know that he’s fighting for them, they’re saying all these. People should learn to be patient.”