Nigeria Civil Defence Corps To Recruit 3,500 Personnel This Year

SAN FRANCISCO, February 16, (THEWILL) – The Commandant-General of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Abdullahi Gana, on Wednesday disclosed that the agency is planning to recruit additional 3,500 personnel in 2017.

He made this disclosure while presenting NSCDC's 2017 budget of N61.4 bn before the House of Representatives Committee on Interior in Abuja, stating that the move is to enable the corps meet the demands from some ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs.

Listing the MDAs as: the Ministries of Solid Minerals, Agriculture and Rural Development, Water Resources, Nigeria Railways Corporation, he explained that the planned recruitment is also to see to the protection of lives and property in the Northeast region.

Gana said the recruitment would cost N2 billion and urged the committee to appropriate more fund to the organisation.

He said the corps was facing operational as well as accommodation challenges which requires urgent attention.

“We have debts of only fueling of operational vehicles of over N150 million; I have accumulated rents of over N400 million. I do not know where to get money to pay.

“You can see some state governors harassing our officers, I do not want to mention the states here, to the extent that they gave our staff one week to vacate.

“I have such cases in more than 25 states where we are living in rented apartments; our state commandants are living in rented apartments,” the Commandant-General said.

He however commended some states government that have been very supportive of the agency's effort in securing lives and property across the country.