Tension mounts at NERFUND over fears of mass sack

Workers of the National Economic Reconstruction Fund (NERFUND) now live in fear of the unknown as the situation bedevilling the agency’s activities has taken a new dimension.

A greater part of last week saw some senior members of staff being edgy as rumours of government winding up the activities of the body spread.

Trouble began for the agency when government received a report that more than 70 per cent of the N5.5 billion funds, recently channeled through it by the Goodluck Jonathan administration for startups and other older companies could not be traced.

Created in 1989 to support private sector imitative that has innovations in any aspect of the economy, the fund is supposed to work in collaboration with the Bank of Industry (BoI), but several administrations had indicated intention to wind it up.

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The Oronsaye committee report on pruning down of government departments and agencies penciled it down as one the establishments in the first page of those to be scrapped.

But since July 2016, the management of the fund has been run through the BoI, which was directed to take over the day-to-day activities of the agency

It will be recalled that in a circular issued by the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Permanent Secretary, Mahmoud Dutse, had in January 2016 directed all senior management staff of the establishment to submit reports on their activities, while the rest of staff proceed on indefinite leave, pending further action that would be taken on the issue.

The notice read in part, “Following recent developments in your organisation and failure to reconcile the differences between the executive management and the entire staff in spite of the ministry’s intervention on the matter, the Federal Ministry of Finance has decided to close down your agency with immediate effect to forestall a further breakdown of law and order.

“Consequently, all members of staff should proceed on an indefinite leave pending further instructions from the ministry.”

However, the Media Adviser to the Minister of Finance, Mr. Festus Akanbi, said as far the ministry is concerned, NERFUND has been closed down.

He confirmed that already the Minister Mrs. Kemi Adeosun had already set up a committee to investigate the allegations of corruption leveled against the current interim management of the agency

To worsen the fate of NERFUND, series of petitions were said to have flooded the ministry, alleging massive embezzlement by the former management.

Just between November 2016 and January, both the Ministry of Finance and the EFCC were said to have received more than 10 petitions against the interim management for alleged disappearance of about N800 million, meant for workers’ remuneration.

“We will rather prefer having government take firm decision as to whether to allow NERFUND remain in operation or have it closed down, we are tired of being tossed about by successive governments,” said Mr. Bernard Kulomoh, a contractor with the agency.

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