The National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) is in fresh crisis.
This is coming even as the Commission has sanctioned two of its directors over what it called “serious misconduct.”
While one of them, Mr Robert Bolokor, was dismissed from service, the other, Mr Okechukwu Odunna, was suspended.
Odunna will remain on suspension pending the conclusion of an investigation by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission.
The two officials were said to be on Salary Grade Level 17.
While Bolokor was of the Human Resources Management Department, Odunna is of the Monitoring and Enforcement Department.
Our correspondent gathered that the sanctions were part of the decisions taken at a meeting of the commission’s Governing Board held on September 13.
The decision was said to have been based on the recommendations of a committee set up by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation on some allegations levelled against the two officials.
The commission had communicated the decisions to the affected officials.
Following the development, it was further gathered that members of the staff union who were not comfortable with the decisions picketed the commission’s office in Abuja on Tuesday.
The commission’s Head, Communications, Magnus Ekechukwu, confirmed the development in a telephone interview with our correspondent on Tuesday.
He said, “Your information is correct. Mr Bolokor was dismissed while Mr Odunna was suspended. There were petitions against them about the procedure of how they came in.
“The sanctions were based on the recommendation of the committee set up by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation that investigated them. The sanctions were in accordance with the Public Service Rules.”
“The perception that we had about them is clearly wrong”
Ekechukwu also confirmed the protest by workers at the commission’s headquarters in Jabi, Abuja, describing it as unjustified. He accused the arrowheads of the protest of being sympathetic to the sanctioned officials.
“Members of the staff union locked off our office today. Operations could not go on there. I am just leaving the place now. The picketing was done by those sympathetic to the concerned officials,” he added.
He however added that the commission’s management will reach out to the workers for an “amicable settlement.”
[Punch]