Allege Fraud: Group drag Amnesty HR Firm to EFCC over allege​ diversion Of staff retirement savings

​A transparency advocacy group, Movement for Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta has petitioned an out-source human resource firm attached to the Presidential Amnesty office, MENZON Nigeria Limited, over​ allege ​illegal​ ​contract and criminal conversion of staff retirement savings of over 200 staff.

According to the group, the accused Human Resources firm allegedly engage conversion and partial remittal of over 200 staff of the Presidential Amnesty Programme (PAP) retirement savings to their respective Pension Administrators, an act in breach of the provisions of sections 11(5b) 11(7) of the Pensions​ Reform​ Act 2004, and part V111 (44) of the Procurement Act 2007.

​The group, in the petition which was copied to the Inspector-General of Police, the​ Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Presidential Amnesty Office, claimed that the former Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Prof. Charles Dokubo, allegedly provoked staff under his administration with the brazen illegal attitude of MENZON Nigeria Limited, a firm allegedly contracted without compliance with the Public Procurement Act 2007 to procure consultants with requisite expertise to undertake specialized responsibilities at the Presidential Amnesty Office.

​In the petition, dated 8th of December, 2021 and signed by Executive Director of the Movement for Sustainable Development of the Niger Delta, Chief Ayibatekena Olodin, the group argued that they are constrained as vanguard for Transparency and Accountability to approach the anti-graft agencies over the need to investigate and prosecute the allege anomaly done to over 200 staff of the Presidential Amnesty Programme under the watch Prof. Charles Dokubo, “We are constrained by this outright demonstration of shame to draw your attention to the alleged corrupt practices foisted on the Amnesty staff, with a call for further investigation and prosecution.”

​”It will be recalled that following the exit of Gen, Paul Boro (Rtd) as Coordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme in March 2018, his successor Prof. Charles Quaker Dokubo, engaged the services of Double Helix Nigeria Limited, to undertake the recruitment and management of Consultants in the Amnesty Office. The justification for such an action was attributed to sharp practices by the erstwhile firm. Shortly after resumption of consultants recruited by Double Helix Nigeria Limited, precisely six months after, the contract was once again revoked and a new firm MENZON Nigeria Limited, which is the subject of this petition, was engaged with a directive to adopt the consultants recruited by Double Helix Nigeria Limited without any recruitment protocols and in violation of Part V111 (44) of the Public Procurement Act 2007. Our grouse with the recruitment firm MENZON Nigeria Limited is not far-fetched, haven ripped off over 200 Consultants of their Contributory Pension Saving Funds for over two years”
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“Under the Pension agreement presented to the staff, 18% of their basic salary shall be deducted at source, with an additional 12% as contributory Funds by MENZON Nigeria Limited and remitted into the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSA) being managed by the Pension Funds Administrator (PFA). Sadly, from available information as sighted in the annexures, MENZON Nigeria Limited allegedly conspired among themselves to suspend payments into the Retirement Savings Accounts of over 200 consultants even though, the 18% deductions were deducted from the consultants salaries”
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“The result of this inglorious act amounts to a breach of the Pension Act 2004 cited above, with dire consequences. For the avoidance of doubt, the above cited sections provide thus; “All contributory pension funds shall be remitted into the employees Retirement Savings Account not later than 7 days from the day salary is paid.” This provision was never complied with. In view of the above, we humbly beseech the anti-graft agencies to investigate the contract of MENZON Nigeria Limited alongside its failures and alleged fraudulent diversions of remittances of staff retirement savings for possible prosecution”

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