Investigate extortion allegation, Job racketeering committee tells ICPC

The House of Representatives Ad hoc committee investigating alleged job racketeering by MDAs has written to the ICPC, urging it to investigate allegations of bribery and extortion made against the lawmakers.

Rep. Yusuf Gagdi, Chairman of the committee, disclosed this when Federal Polytechnic Rectors, under the aegis of the Committee of Federal Polytechnic Rectors, appeared before the committee in Abuja.

According to him, the committee has written to the ICPC to investigate the account number allegedly released to heads of tertiary institutions for payment of the bribe.

Gagdi said, “I have already written to the ICPC to investigate the account number that was published by an online medium, the owner of that account, and whether there is any transaction by vice chancellors and rectors of polytechnics in the country.”

Gagdi threatened that the committee would take legal action against the online medium over the publication, whose aim, he said, was to “blackmail and discredit” the committee.

It would be recalled that the online medium published a story alleging that some members of the committee requested vice chancellors and heads of tertiary institutions to pay certain amounts to the said account as bribes.

The story also claimed that the account was dedicated for the purpose of giving a soft landing to any institutions’ that would pay the bribe money into it during the investigation.

Members of the committee were also said to have engaged in extortion from heads of MDAs, including those of academic institutions.

While appearing before the committee on Thursday, however, the rectors refuted the allegations.

Speaking on behalf of his colleagues, Engr. Yahaya Mohammed, the Rector of Federal Polytechnic, Kaura Namoda, Zamfara State, said at no time did the rectors interface with any member of the panel.

He also denied that they were given any bank account numbers to pay the bribe, as alleged.

When asked by Gagdi to respond to the allegations of bribery and extortion made against the committee, Mohammed said, ”This is our first time interfacing with the committee. All of us came into Abuja yesterday.

“Chairman, we are not in receipt of any account number or account name from any member of this committee.

“I will say under oath that we have not received any account number from any member of this committee,” he said.