Former Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has been interrogated by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over his involvement in alleged contract irregularities and job racketeering during his time in office.
The questioning, which lasted nearly five hours, focused on questionable activities within the Nigerian Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), an agency under the Ministry of Labour.
The ICPC’s investigation follows reports of improper contract awards and payments of gratuities to top officials at the NSITF, raising concerns about corruption and misuse of government funds.
The probe also involves a controversial N20 billion contract awarded to P2E Technologies for the digitalization and automation of NSITF activities, a project that many believe did not follow due process.
The NSITF is a federal agency responsible for providing social insurance services to workers in Nigeria.
It primarily focuses on compensation for workers who suffer accidents or injuries while on duty.
However, recent reports have brought to light potential mismanagement within the organization.
One of the key issues under investigation is a N47 million gratuity payment made to the former Managing Director of NSITF, Mrs. Maureen Allagoa, while she was still in office.
Typically, gratuities are paid after an official has left their position, and the timing of this payment has raised questions about its legitimacy.
ICPC officials are also looking into whether this payment was part of a broader pattern of financial mismanagement at the agency.
Ngige, who served as Minister of Labour and Employment under former President Muhammadu Buhari, has found himself at the center of these allegations.
Ngige was reportedly involved in approving a controversial N20 billion contract for NSITF just before leaving office.
According to sources, the contract was awarded to P2E Technologies for the digitalization of NSITF’s operations but was rushed through without following standard procurement procedures.
In addition to the contract controversies, Ngige is also facing questions about job racketeering at the NSITF.
Job racketeering refers to the illegal practice of selling employment positions in exchange for money or other favors.
It is alleged that under Ngige’s watch, some jobs within the agency were sold to the highest bidders, bypassing merit-based hiring practices.
While details about the job racketeering allegations are still emerging, the ICPC’s investigation aims to uncover the extent of these activities and whether Ngige was directly involved or simply failed to prevent them from happening.
Earlier in 2022, Ngige announced that he would be running for president in Nigeria’s 2023 elections.
However, he later withdrew from the race and remained in President Buhari’s cabinet as the Minister of Labour and Employment until the end of the administration. Some observers have linked his withdrawal from the presidential race to the ongoing investigations, suggesting that Ngige wanted to avoid further scrutiny by staying in office