- Police nab official of fake recruitment agency
Edo State Governor, Godwin Obaseki, has revealed plans to pass into law, a bill to set up a Security Trust Fund for the state, as part of measures to revamp the security architecture.
Obaseki disclosed this when executive members of the Retired Army, Navy and Air Force Officers Association of Nigeria (RANAO), Edo State chapter, visited him at the Government House in Benin, the state capital.
“As part of the rethinking of the state’s security architecture, we will, very shortly, pass into law the new Security Trust Fund Bill, which is going to be the anchor on which our security architecture will be built on,” he said
The governor commended members of RANAO for their contributions to the security of the country, noting, “Nigeria has been shaped by your activities as retired security officers and you have fought to keep the country as one.”
He urged the group to provide advice and assistance to improve the security of life and property in the state, adding that security is a major challenge facing the country, and all hands must be on deck to solve the nagging problem.
Obaseki said: “As a government, we realise that the challenges we face as a country are quite deep and formidable. Without law, safety and order, government will not succeed. That is why we have tried, as a government, to do our best in terms of safety and security to enable us build a great state.”
Earlier, leader of the group, Major General (retd) Paul Edomwande, commended Obaseki for the developmental strides recorded since he assumed office as governor of the state.
“We laud your effort in abolishing the Community Development Associations (CDAs) that had caused carnage in our communities.
“Nothing should be allowed to disrupt the mop-up that is still ongoing,” he said.
Meanwhile, the state government said the persons behind the fake recruitment agency, who defrauded over 500 job seekers in Benin of millions of naira, for non-existent jobs, have been arrested by the police.
Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Crusoe Osagie, said an official of the fake recruitment agency, KAI Consulting, has been arrested by the police.
“The suspect, Benjamin Amaechi Chukwura, is a graduate of Public Administration from Ambrose Alli University (AAU) Ekpoma.
“He claimed his organisation wrote a letter to Edo State Government in November 2017, seeking recognition and partnership with the state on environmental issues.
“Chukwura told security agents that KAI Environmental is a voluntary organisation operating in Delta State with about 60 workers,” Osagie said.
The governor’s aide further said Chukwura is being interrogated by the police on the roles of his colleagues in the employment scam.
The news of the employment scam broke few days ago that over 500 job seekers in Edo State were made to pay over N10 million for jobs, by KAI Consulting, which claimed it was recruiting workers for the Edo State Ministry of Environment and Sustainability.
But, the Commissioner for Environment and Sustainability, Omoua Alonge Oni-Okpaku, debunked the claim and said all state government jobs are handled by EdoJobs, a government jobs portal.
In his reaction, the Chief Executive Officer of KAI Environment, Prince Chukwurah Benjamin Amaechi, has said he will refund money to his victims if the state government insist his agency is carrying out illegal recruitment exercise.