The Senate has moved a step
further towards criminalising employment by Ministries, department and Agencies
(MDAs) into federal government offices without first advertising the vacancies.
The bill for an Act seeking to
make such federal employments an offence passed for second reading yesterday
The Bill also seeks to promote
integrity and transparency in the recruitment of personnel into the federal
civil service by making it an offence for a federal ministry, agency or
parastatal to fill existing vacancies in their organisations if such vacancies
have not been published.
If the Bill is passed into law,
it becomes an offence for heads of MDAs who violate the provisions punishable
on conviction with a fine of N3 million or 2-year jail term or both.
This followed a motion moved by
Senator Abiodun Olujimi (Ekiti South) for a Bill titled ‘A Bill for an Act to
make it an offence for vacant positions in the Federal Civil Service to be
filled without their being advertised and for other matters connected
therewith, 2017.’
The Red Chamber passed the Bill
to second reading and referred the Bill to the Senate Committee on
Establishment and Public Service to work on it and report back in four weeks.
When it is passed into law, it
shall be an offence for MDAs to fill a vacancy in their establishment unless
the vacancies are placed on their notice board for 3 months before the
commencement of the recruitment exercise.
In addition, the vacancies and
the positions with the requirements are to be sent to the Federal Civil Service
Commission immediately upon the existence of such vacancies for appropriate
action.
The Bill reads: ‘’Any person who
violates the provisions of Section 1 of the Bill commits an offence and is
liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding Three Hundred Thousand Naira (N3
00,000) or to imprisonment for a term of not more than Two years or to both.
“Where a Federal Ministry, agency
or parastatal commits an offence under subsection (1), any officer, director or
agent of the Federal Ministry, agency or parastatal who directed, authorized,
assented to or acquiesced or participated in the commission of the offence is a
party to and guilty of the offence and is liable on conviction to the
punishment provided for the offence, whether or not the Federal Ministry,
agency or parastatal has been prosecuted for or convicted of the offence”.
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