Bukhari Fires Muhammad Mustafa Abdallah, President of NDLEA
President Muhammadu Bukhari approved the resignation of the President of the National Drug Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), Colonel Muhammad Mustafa Abdallah (ret.).
He was appointed on January 12, 2016, former Secretary of the Government of the Federation (SGF) Ingres. Babacair Laval, by letter under the number SGF.35 / S.5 / 11/272.
In another letter dated January 7, 2021, signed by the federal government secretary, boss Mustafa, Abdallah was instructed to refer the case to the agency secretary, Shadrah Haruna, by January 10, 2021 (today).
The Sunday Independent learned that Haruna, who was in the UK at the time of the warning, had to interrupt her trip as she hurried back to Nigeria over the weekend.
Anxiety about rushed hiring
However, the paramilitary agency worried when the ousted president began mass recruiting just 24 hours after receiving the delivery letter.
NDLEA spokesman John Ahem, Deputy Chief of the Counter Narcotics Division (DCN), who announced this in a statement Friday in Abuja, urged selected candidates to visit the agency’s website. www.ndlea.gov.org for the list adding that the selected ones were also contacted by e-mail and SMS.
According to him, applicants have applied for several vacancies, some of which were invited to pass the proficiency test.
Interested candidates of 5,000 will appear at the Agency Academy, Citadel of Anti-Narcotics, Nigeria (CCNN), Catton Riccos, Jos, Plateau State, for review and documentation between 10 and 23 pm. January 2021 at 9:00 a.m.
“The candidates are divided into four different screening groups in accordance with the COVID-19 pandemic protocol.
“The order and calendar of the year are also indicated, depending on the group of candidates. They should arrive the day before the start of the selection, ”Achema said.
He added that successful candidates had to receive nominations letters and document them immediately after successful selection.
“Therefore, candidates must appear for selection with their sponsor letterheads, originals and duplicates of academic documents, birth certificates or age declarations, and indigenous certificates.
“They must also bring a health certificate from a public hospital, as well as shorts, T-shirts, tarps and socks,” an NDLEA spokesman said.
Farce, Impermissible – Officers
However, alarmed NDLEA officers who opposed the recruitment also thanked President Bukhari for his swift action to dismiss Colonel Abdallah after his depressing actions over the past five years.
In a letter addressed to the president over the weekend, officers condemned the hasty recruitment and called for it to be canceled.
“Upon receipt of the letter of delivery, the beleaguered outgoing president immediately ordered urgent letters to be sent to candidates to report to Jos NDLEA Academy for training on Monday 11 January 2021. This hasty move by Abdallah is mischievous. and efforts to cover up the reckless embezzlement of employee money issued to him since 2019 and to counter attempts to expose the anomalies inherent in the scandalous doctrine.
“It was also noted that most of the candidates who have now been shortlisted for the 11th hour of training did not even apply for a job and sat down for the entrance exam. This unfortunate event not only denied the principles of transparency, but also aimed to deny Nigerians an equal opportunity to serve their country.
“We, the officers concerned, hereby endorse the vote of no confidence in the recruitment of staff led by Abdallah, and we strongly urge Mr. President to suspend the recruitment of forensic trial personnel in the interests of justice and fair play.
“Mr. President, it is clear that the urgency with which Abdallah announced the names of the candidates only after receiving the delivery letter for the exercise, which has been fully mobilized since 2019, is plagued by a sinister intention to advance his selfish interests. to the detriment of national security.
“We hereby request a full investigation into the recruitment process, which begins with the payment of 60 million N60 million to Em-Plug ICT for the creation of an online portal that lasted only two weeks. The Agency’s ICT department suggested creating an online portal for the token, but Abdallah ignored it.
“There was no newspaper publication in which ICT companies could apply to create a recruiting portal. As a result, we want all non-due process contract awards to be properly investigated. All eligible candidates must be verified and certified in order to apply online, take the exam, and pass. Otherwise, the new exercise must be conducted according to the new directive. “
Distortion of seniority
Officers also accuse Abdallah of misrepresenting the agency’s list of officials.
According to them, “seniority is inviolable for a paramilitary organization, but Abdallah completely violated the seniority list. Abdallah did not succeed in harmonizing and correctly placing the officers, he promoted the younger flatterers over his elders, who dared to tell him the truth. This needs to be corrected in order to restore discipline in the agency.
“There are many leadership vacancies that Abdallah refused to fill due to his administrative inaction. Each team is expected to have a commander and two assistants, but more than half of the command formations have vacancies that Abdallah refused to fill. Again, many of the commanders kept on at such a pace to the point where their productivity declined every day, but he sees no reason to replace them.
“It is because of the above and many other shortcomings that we are asking to investigate Abdullah and appoint a competent leader who will lead the agency along the path to glory. We cannot afford the dear price of another five wasted years.
“Urgent action is needed to boost the morale of officers in reducing drug trafficking and abuse in the growing country. Ultimately, this will help solve the growing drug problems and improve the country’s image in the eyes of our international partners. “
Relevant officers had previously called on the president to investigate and prosecute Abdallah for the alleged theft of N2.8 billion in monthly commanders’ benefits and for canceling the sale of the official presidential housing in Ikoyi that he allegedly sold.
In a letter to the agency’s president, signed by a certain Musa Ahmed Yusuf, the officers accused the outgoing NDLEA chief of embezzling $ 2.8 billion in monthly operating benefits for commanders.
“Since 2016, having replaced Abdallah, he stopped paying monthly operating expenses to commanders. This continued throughout his tenure.
“The agency’s monthly allocation of about $ 48 million is being used for Abdallah’s personal interests. Over the past five years, this amounted to NN 2.8 billion, ”the statement says.
“How do teams meet their needs and how do you define corruption? Abdallah also sold office housing on George Street in Ikoyi, Lagos to the president of the agency.
“It also allowed the telecommunications provider to install a telecommunications station in Ikoya’s once noisy office, which is now a shadow of itself. Abdullah’s impunity must not go unpunished, ”he said.
The petition also calls for the appointment of “a competent president appointed to correct Abdallah’s many mistakes and take the agency to a new level after Abdallah’s term expires.
“We call for a full investigation of Abdallah’s endless recruitment, even if money has been transferred to him since 2019. None of the procedures followed due process. All exercises must be conducted by a competent supervisor. This will provide a level playing field for Nigerians in serving their country. ”
He also referred to the refusal of NDLEA management to promote employees when and when, in addition to his inattention to the country’s growing drug abuse crisis.
“Abdullah refused to release our backlog. This undermined our morale. The most painful point is that our colleagues, who have retired in the past five years, have left the service in lower positions than they would have been entitled to, due to the administrative insensitivity of Abdallah. This injustice demoralizes the entire workforce, ”the group said.
The petition claims that a national poll confirmed the magnitude of the drug problem in Nigeria without any effort on the part of Abdullah to reverse the ugly trend.
According to the report, in 2017, just one year after Abdullah took office, almost 15% of Nigeria’s adult population (roughly 14.3 million people) reported a “significant level” of psychoactive drug use. … This is much higher than the 2016 global average of 5.6% among adults.
“The survey was conducted by the Nigeria National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Center for Research and Information on Substance Abuse with technical support from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). and EU funding.
“Our airports, seaports and land borders are becoming more permeable every day, while Abdullah remains unperturbed.”
Source: – Independent ng
