DREXEL Technologies Limited, the outsourcing company engaged by the Nigerian Immigration Service, NIS, for March 15, 2014 recruitment interview that claimed the lives of about 20 job seekers nationwide, is not registered. Umbrella body of Outsourcing companies in Nigeria, Human Capital Providers Association of Nigeria, HuCaPAN, which disclosed this yesterday, said this was the outcome of the association’s investigation from the Ministry of Labour and Productivity, saddled with the responsibility of issuing licenses to outsourcing companies.
HuCaPAN claims was confirmed by an official of the Labour Ministry who told Vanguard on condition of anonymity that “the affected company is not among the over 700 registered recruiter companies as at March 2014.”The association faulted the claims by the Minister of Internal Affairs that the company passed through the Ministerial Tender Board, declaring that the four companies shortlisted before Drexel were given the job were not registered by the Federal Government.
President of HuCaPAN, Mr. Neye Enemigan, in a chat with journalists at a national workshop on “Strengthening the role of private employment agencies, PEAs in Human resources development”, jointly organized by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity and HuCaPAN, in Lagos, lamented that the Federal Government could engage the services of a company not known to law.According to him, “The unfortunate death was avoidable. It is something that should not have happened in any civilized country.
It is a shame and for me I feel very sad. I express my condolence to the family. The outsourcing company is not our member. But what is worse is that we have taken pain to investigate and we have found out this outsourcing company is not even registered to recruit. For example, the Minister of Internal Affair, Mr. Abba Moro said that they followed due process and that they shortlisted four companies; Pyrich Global Limited, Bosmos Infotech Limited, Rosebonny Technologies Limited and Drexel Technologies Limited, and that all of them went through the ministerial tenders board.
“We have investigated and found out that all the four companies are not registered to recruit. In other word, the one that got the job, Drexel Technologies Limited is not registered, licenced or authorised by law to engage in that exercise. By Nigerian labour law and to be specific, section 23, 24, 25 and 71 of the Labour Act laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 makes it clear that the Minister of Labour and Productivity, will licence any organisation that is a recruiter. So, if you have not been licenced by the Minister of Labour and Productivity as a recruiter, what you have doing is illegal. It is a shame that the Federal Government will engage a company that is not known by law to carry out this type of exercise on Nigerians.”
On money paid by the applicants, he said “The company collected according to what the Minister of Internal Affairs said, over N700 million and also by law, no prospective employee is required to pay a Kobo to get a job. You are not required to pay to get form, you are not required to pay for anything. That on its own is also illegal. ”We want Nigerians to establish that this company is quack and the company should be dealt with in accordance with the law. The idea thing is to return the money paid by the applicants. The senate has set up into the matter and I think it hold a public hearings. We are hoping that it would be done speedily and as an association, we will like to make presentation and give our professional advice.”