EXPOSED: How former NECO registrar, Gana, illegally retained director due for retirement

Fresh facts have emerged on the excesses of the management of the National Examinations Council under the former Acting Registrar, Abubakar Gana.

It has been uncovered that Gana, who is currently under investigation by Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, illegally retained the Director, General Services Department, Mr Audu Fuka, in the services of the council, despite clocking the statutory 35 years in service.

Fuka was due for retirement on March 1, 2019.

Documents seen by SaharaReporters revealed that Audu Fuka, with file number P.312, started his public service career on March 1, 1984, with the Niger State Science and Technical Schools Board, Minna, Niger State, as indicated in the personal data form duly completed by him on September 3, 1997.

His first appointment was confirmed on March 1, 1986, by the Niger State Civil Service Commission, but this letter of confirmation was suspiciously swept off his file by him in 2017, a source at the examination council said.

“In September 2017, Fuka, surprised everyone in the council, when he started persuading and lobbying the then Registrar, Prof. Charles Uwakwe, to alter his date of the first appointment to read May 16, 1994.

“He also begged the registrar to confirm his first appointment and to change the date of confirmation of his first appointment to read May 16, 1996.

“After failed verbal persuasion, Fuka went back to take undue advantage of his position as the then Director, Human Resource Services Department, to sweep his official file of all documents related to his transfer of service from Niger State Civil Service.

“After that, he forwarded a formal memo to the then Registrar/Chief Executive, Professor Charles Uwakwe, on October 30, 2017, requesting for approval to change his date of the first appointment to read May 16, 1994, instead of March 1, 1984.

“He also requested the registrar to confirm his first appointment and to change the date of confirmation of his first appointment to read May 16, 1996, instead of March 1, 1986.”

It was further gathered that after a thorough scrutiny of Fuka’s available service records with the Council, the then Registrar, Prof. Charles Uwakwe, disapproved of his requests and personally served Fuka, a very clear and strong-worded letter, with ref No. NECO/R/APPT/01/17/02, dated November 15, 2017.

Fuka did not appeal against the decision of the registrar up to the time the registrar was suspended from office on May 10, 2018.

Another source said, “Having settled the matter, Fuka’s name was forwarded along with names of other officers due for retirement in 2019 to the office of the Head of Service of the Federation for pre-retirement training in 2018.

“Following the suspension of Prof Charles Uwakwe, Mr Abubakar Gan was made the Acting Registrar. Upon assumption of office as Acting Registrar/CE, Mr Abubakar Gana promptly directed the then Director, Human Resources Management, Mr John Ogborodi, to constitute a departmental panel to revisit Mr Fuka’s request to alter his date of first appointment and date of confirmation of the first appointment.

“At the end, the departmental panel was said to have reaffirmed the earlier position of Prof Charles Uwakwe that Mr Fuka had no case. Not satisfied with the departmental panel’s recommendation, the Acting Registrar constituted an inter-departmental panel chaired by the same Mr John Ogborodi to revisit the same case for the third time.”

The inter-departmental panel was said to have also established that Fuka’s correct date of the first appointment is truly March 1, 1984, and his valid date of confirmation of the first appointment is truly March 1, 1986.

Consequently, the panel was said to have recommended that he should be made to proceed on retirement effective March 1, 2019, having spent 35 years in service.

Following that, the Acting Registrar was said to have forwarded the report to the Chairman Governing Board, Dr Abubakar Sadiq, who for some unexplained reasons, stayed action on the report to this day.

The implication is that Fuka is still very much in the service of the council as Director, General Services.

“If Fuka is still drawing salary after March 1, 2019, it means some officials of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System must have compromised to alter his captured records. However, his pay slips from 2014 to 2017 as well as his pension enrolment records with his pension administrators will all betray him,” the source added.