N28m toilet renovation: Sen. Etok describes FCSC expenses as robbery

The Senate Committee on Establishment and Public Service headed by Senator Aloysius Etok, PDP, Akwa Ibom North-West on Monday described the whopping sum of N28million spent by the Federal Civil Service Commission, FCSC for renovation of toilet facilities in 2012 as outrageous. Senator Aloysius Etok, PDP was also told that N18 million was expended to renovate the commission's offices in 2012 and N25 million went to ITC equipment for the offices. The Chairman of Federal Civil Service Commission, FCSC, Deaconess Joan Olatoyosi while defending the 2013 budget of the commission informed the commission that over N129 million was approved for the commission to conduct the 2012 interview and promotion of civil servants, adding that N70 million was released by the Federal Government to complement the N59 million earlier released by government to conduct the exercise, just as she explained that this led to the promotion of 1,229 workers out of the 4,034 civil servants interviewed. In response to Olatoyosi's explanation, Senator Etok described the commission's expenses as a clear case of robbery. Etok said he wondered why the commission will go an extra mile in swindling government in such manner, adding: "As a chairman of this committee, let me say here that we disagree with this and on this note, we request to meet with all those involved in this contract. "We, the politicians are the ones that people call thieves, nobody calls you, the civil servants thieves." More so, in defense to claims that staff of the Commission were collecting N500,000 kickbacks from applicants for employment, the Commission's Chairman denied insinuation, said she was hearing about it for the first time and challenged anyone with proof to come forward.