NIS tragedy: Recruitment consultant, Drexel Technologies not licensed – Ministry

BY VICTOR AHIUMA YOUNG
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.”