The Cooperate Affairs Commission (CAC) has said that online publication over alleged N6.52 billion fraud is a cheap blackmail, a figment of the writer’s imagination.
The Commission through the Director, Public Affairs, Duke Ukaga in a press statement issued at the weekend said it smacks of mischief, an attempt to ridicule the Registrar-General under the leadership of Alhaji Garba Abubakar and the Commission.
He said for the avoidance of doubt and to set the records straight, the Commission in 2019 conducted a promotion examination was held in 2020 and no budgetary provision was made for the payment of promotion arrears dating back to 1st January, 2019.
“The Board had the option to make the promotion to take effect from 1st January, 2020 but decided to retain the actual date of 1st January, 2019 so that the beneficiaries would maintain their seniority particularly when the 2020 promotion examination was being held about one month after.
“The total arrears would have been over N560million if the financial benefit was to start from 1st January, 2019.
“Since the introduction of Treasury Single Account, the Commission did not have a separate Revolving Loan Account as was the case in the past.
“The Commission had been approving and granting loans from the revenue account and loan recoveries were not properly accounted for.
“Some members of staff have become over exposed due to indiscriminate borrowing from Commercial Banks and the Staff Cooperative Society with total deductions in most cases in excess of 33 1/3 percent contrary to the Condition of Service and Public Service Rule.
“The Commission has just created a Revolving Loan Account pursuant to the approval of the Board and the budgeted sum will be credited into the account as cash flow permits.
“On Staff Cooperative Loans, these are matters between the members and the Cooperative Society. Management does not get involved in the activities of the Cooperative Society other than deducting the contributions of staff and remitting to the Society as part of ways of instituting saving culture .
