News

Job Racketeering in Nigerian Public Institutions a.k.a. Slot Buying

Published

1 year ago

July 23, 2024

When it is time to fill up the vacancies, we see announcements on the federal agency websites. News websites and blogs equally pick up the stories. Forums such as Nairaland will see multiple threads concerning the ‘latest recruitment openings’ into so, so, and so Nigeria Commission. While many rejoice, some are out to condemn the recruitment system for being incompetent, biased, and susceptible to influence by the highest bidder. Will racketeering ever allow the most
qualified candidates to secure the job? What Nigerians commonly call slot buying is the order of the day during recruitment into the civil service. Even a legit slot is hard to come by. When you find one, depending on the available position, a willing applicant is looking at spending at least
300,000 and up to 2 million naira.

Work and School,, a Nigerian-based website that specializes in picking up recruitment announcements found that job racketeering is the virus discouraging the right talents from
applying for a spot in public service. If we do not have skilled minds and hands in public offices, how can we experience the ‘change’ different government administrations have been preaching years after the country’s independence? Agreed, a qualified candidate for the job is not the sole solution, but it could go a long way in national service.

Nigeria and Its Middleman Mentality

Nigerians love to take advantage. It also seems that from the top to the lowest civil servants, many want a cut. That is why, if an applicant manages to find a slot vendor, they are typically
middlemen. The honest ones will say, “I know someone who knows someone” (referring to those in positions who can fix in names where the beholders are ready to commit something ‘cash’ to be shortlisted). Someone will want the applicant to believe that they are in control of the
shortlisting of names, and can guarantee their bidder’s name.

This takes us to the term ‘arbitrage’, which Work and School found to be the new business of recruitment in Nigeria. This is also the reason for expensive slots, especially concerning federal jobs. Here, Servant B buys multiple slots beforehand from Servant A, and then retails them for
three to five times the amount—that is the arbitrage of recruitment into Nigerian federal agencies with good returns.

As for the cost of slots, it is typically at least 300,000 naira and as much as 2 million naira, and sometimes more. Depending on the vendor, the money may be deducted from the applicant’s monthly salary until the payment is complete.

As for the payment method, it is usually in cash. This is to eliminate any form of transaction history linking the slot vendor to the candidate. It’s a measure against ‘just in case’ they get caught.

Job Seekers at the Mercy of Employment Scammers

While looking for a federal job, desperation might easily set in. This means that applicants are more likely to get scammed. Applicants who are new to the system eventually learn that Nigeria’s recruitment is pay to play, and are tempted to jump on any opportunity that is captioned “Pay now and secure a slot”. Knowing it is probably the only way to get the job, they helplessly make transfers to faceless people on social media, forums, fake websites advertising
slots, etc. You would not blame them. As a Nairalander, CJStarz wrote on this thread www.nairaland.com/7895196/seriously-need-federal-government-job, “When you are desperate
for something, you are prone to falling into [the] wrong hands.”

What is the Federal Government Doing About It and What is the Way Forward?

Well, yes, the Nigerian government is doing something, at least on paper. Even that is without sabotage. For example, the Premium Times had reported how Nigerian lawmakers probing job racketeering were extorting money from agencies.

A few have been caught in the act. In 2020, a serving Deputy Director of the Federal Character Commission, FCC, Alh. Ahmad Balarabe was sentenced to 14 years imprisonment by the State
High Court 3 sitting in Gusau, Zamfara State for defrauding unsuspecting job seekers of N7 million. In 2023, the House of Representatives ordered the arrest of a former desk officer in
charge of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) at the Federal Character Commission (FCC), Haruna Kolo, over job racketeering allegations.

Just more good news: the Senate plans to enact a law prescribing stiffer sanctions to stem job racketeering and disregard for the federal character principles in employment. This was
reported by the chairman, the Senate Committee on Federal Character and Inter-governmental Affairs, Allwell Onyesoh, at a meeting with the management of the Federal Character
Commission in Abuja. He further added that “… you must put some sanctions if you want things
to work; we are considering stiffer penalties; there must be a consequence for everything.”

Slot Buying Is Not All the Problem But…

If applicants are not getting recruited into civil service, it’s not a problem restricted to job racketeering alone. In Nigeria, a federal agency may be looking for just 5,000 applicants, only to see 1.5 million applicants. For example, during the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps,
NSCDC, recruitment in 2022. about 1.5 million applications were registered on the website.

“Those who met the requirements on age and height were about 750,000 and were asked to upload their certificates. A total of 217,000 applicants uploaded their certificates of which 113,000 were shortlisted to write the CBT but only 53,116 eventually sat for the test. It is from these that 5,000 were picked among the successful ones.” This was declared by the Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, at the Policy Dialogue on Entrenching Transparency in Public Service Recruitment in Nigeria, organised by the Anti-Corruption Academy of Nigeria, an institution of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Relates Offences Commission
(ICPC) in Abuja.

Poor qualifications submitted by the applicants are another reason many applicants fail to get the job. Sometimes, this issue is coupled with candidates’ failure to follow simple instructions.

Internal recruitments are also a cause, whereby no public announcements are made regarding vacant positions. This is often the case with the CBN (Central Bank of Nigeria). The CBN admits that some recruitments are internally done while some are publicly announced inviting qualified
candidates to apply.

We will not even go into ancestral influence. Some agencies are known family businesses, whereby vacant positions are shared amongst the kins of existing officers. Such cases are different from slot buying, except the officers might show appreciation in cash or kind.

Considering these unfair realities, it pays better to learn a good skill and be your own boss at the moment instead of focusing your dreams on a potentially slot-based government job. We can only hope for the government to get rid of the scrupulous elements whose acts of profit before service continue to sideline the best talents, encourage incompetent civil service, and consequently torment the growth of Nigeria.

News

FG Predicts Heavy Rainfall, Flood In Seven States

Published

7 hours ago

August 23, 2025

Editor

The Federal Ministry of Environment on Saturday predicted possible flooding in seven states and 25 locations across Nigeria.

The ministry, in its flood alert warned that heavy rainfall expected between August 23 and 24 could lead to flooding in the listed areas.

The alert was signed by the Director of the Erosion, Flood and Coastal Zone Management Department, Usman Bokani.

He further directed residents of communities along the flood plain from Jebba to Lokoja to evacuate immediately as the River Niger’s water level continues to rise.

“Due to the rise in the water level of River Niger, communities on the flood plain from Jebba to Lokoja are advised to evacuate,” he said.

The states and communities expected to be affected include Benue State (Abinsi, Agyo, Gbajimba, Gogo, Makurdi, Mbapa, Otobi, Otukpo, Udoma, Ukpiam); Borno State (Briyel, Dikwa, MaiduKamba; Gombe State (Bajoga, Dogon Ruwa, Gombe, Nafada); Kebbi State (Gwandu, Jega, Kamba); Nasarawa State (Agima, Keana, Keffi, Odogbo, Rukubi); Niger State (Lapai); and Yobe State (Gashua, Gasma, Potiskum).

On Friday, the National Emergency Management Agency urged residents in high-risk flood plains to evacuate to safer and higher grounds.

The states at high risk according to the agency are Kebbi, Niger, Kwara states that share borders with Benin Republic.

This was disclosed in a press statement signed by the agency’s Head of Press Unit, Manzo Ezekiel.

The Director General of NEMA, Mrs. Zubaida Umar, also directed all NEMA offices covering communities along the River Niger to intensify advocacy and mobilization for flood preparedness following alerts of rising water levels in the upstream of the river in the Republic of Benin.

“In an urgent directive conveyed to the operations offices, Mrs. Zubaida Umar instructed them to sensitize communities to remain vigilant and advise residents in high-risk flood plains to evacuate to safer, higher grounds, especially those in Kebbi, Niger and Kwara states that share borders with Benin Republic.

“She further urged the State Governments of the identified high-risk areas to support their Emergency Management Agencies (SEMAs) and Local Emergency Management Committees (LEMCs) in activating contingency plans and preparedness measures to mitigate the potential impact of this year’s flooding.

“The Director General reaffirmed NEMA’s commitment to ensuring coordinated actions to safeguard lives and livelihoods along the River Niger,” the statement noted.

News

‘Court Of Corruption’ — Obasanjo Knocks INEC Chairman, Judiciary In New Book

Published

8 hours ago

August 23, 2025

Editor

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has criticised the Nigerian judiciary, saying it has been “deeply compromised” and that corruption among judges has turned courts into “a court of corruption rather than a court of justice.”

In his new book, Nigeria: Past and Future, Obasanjo laments the steady decline of the Nigerian judiciary’s integrity, warning that justice has become commodified in Nigeria.

“The reputation of the Nigerian judiciary has steadily gone down from the four eras up till today. The rapidity of the precipitous fall, particularly in the Fourth Republic, is lamentable,” Obasanjo wrote.

He expressed concern that the judiciary’s decline poses a significant threat to the nation’s stability.

Obasanjo recounted an incident where a governor showed him six duplex buildings belonging to a judge who allegedly acquired them from money made as chairman of election tribunals. This anecdote, he said, illustrates the depth of corruption in the judiciary.

The former president also accused Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, of undermining the electoral process since 2015.

“No wonder politicians do not put much confidence in an election which the INEC of Professor Mahmood Yakubu polluted and grossly undermined to make a charade,” he said.

Obasanjo further alleged that politicians believe the outcome of election disputes depends on the will of tribunal judges, court of appeal judges, and supreme court judges.

“No matter what the will of the people may be, the Chairman of INEC since after the 2015 election had made his will greater and more important than the will of the people,” he added.

Moreover, Obasanjo directly accused the late former President Muhammadu Buhari of colluding with the judiciary during his election cases.

“Buhari threw caution to the wind, no matter what had transpired between him and the judges who did his bidding. In his election cases, financially, he topped it up with appointments for them no matter their age and their ranks,” Obasanjo alleged.

The former president concluded that the current state of the judiciary and electoral system in Nigeria is alarming, saying, “After a false declaration of results, making losers winners and winners losers, the victim of the cheating is advised to go to court, which is a court of corruption rather than a court of justice.“

News

Sanwo-Olu Unveils Leather Hub, Eyes 10,000 Jobs

Published

8 hours ago

August 23, 2025

Editor

Lagos State Governor, Sanwo-Olu, on Saturday inaugurated a state-of-the-art leather processing and manufacturing hub in Mushin, projected to create 10,000 direct jobs and generate over $250 million in annual export turnover when fully operational.

In a press release sent to PUNCH Online, the governor said the facility was formally inaugurated on Saturday by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, during her three-day official visit to Lagos.

He added that the hub was named in her honour to recognise her grassroots initiatives in social investment and economic empowerment, with 70 per cent of its employment slots reserved for women and youths.

The hub is equipped with modern machinery to support Nano, Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (NMSMEs), enabling mass production of shoes, bags, belts, packaging materials, and other leather products.

It is designed to ease production bottlenecks, scale operations, and position Lagos as the leather logistics capital of West Africa.

Speaking at the inauguration, Tinubu described the hub as a “trailblazing project” aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda to diversify Nigeria’s economy through industrialisation, manufacturing, and innovation.

The Lagos State Leather Hub in Mushin, formally commissioned by the First Lady of Nigeria, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, on Saturday, 23 August 2025.
“Leatherwork is a traditional craft that has stood the test of time. This facility will empower artisans, scale up leather goods production, and enable them to compete confidently in both local and international markets,” she said, urging entrepreneurs to dedicate themselves to excellence and continuous learning.

Sanwo-Olu said the project would provide training and start-up support to over 150,000 artisans, boost the local economy, attract investments, and strengthen trade links with fashion districts, e-commerce platforms, and future rail services.

“Hides and skins that once left our shores unprocessed will now be transformed here in Lagos into world-class footwear, garments, and accessories proudly stamped ‘Made in Lagos, Made in Nigeria’,” the governor said.

He pledged to expand the facility through transparent regulation and continuous infrastructure upgrades, adding: “True dividends of democracy are best felt when they reach the cobbler in Mushin, the tanner in Oko-Oba, and the young fashion designer in Yaba.”

Commissioner for Wealth Creation and Employment, Akinyemi Ajigbotafe, said the hub would lower production costs and raise quality standards, positioning Lagos-made leather products for dominance in both local and export markets.