The Director-General of the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON), Osita Aboloma has been alleged to literarily witch haunting some members of the staff of the agency he claimed to have ‘gave him out’ in the corruption scandal media report recently exposed under his leadership.
Aboloma is accused of using diabolical means to victimize those spilling out vital information to uncover the rots under his watch.
Findings revealed that Aboloma has been using unfair welfare condition of services, intimidation, and abuse of power to paralyze any member of the staff who has refused to kiss his ring and bend the knee to his corrupt style of operation, subjugation and oppressive ‘rulership’.
Aboloma is said to have subdued and rendered ineffective members of the council in order to pursue and cover up his evil agenda without anyone blinking an eye and anyone who failed to fall under his spell is immediately punished with unlawful transfers.
One of his victims is Sunday Aderemi, the head of procurement who was replaced by Aboloma for ‘divulging classified information’. Meanwhile, it was discovered that Aderemi’s original sin was that he exposed a scam disguised under consultancy contracts for sensitization, which was carried out by members of the staff. Aboloma wasted no time in replacing Aderemi with Shehu Abubakar who is said to be influential in covering up his rots.
Another senior staff was also said to have been suddenly transferred from the headquarters to Kogi State without proper procedure or prior notice. Many other members of the staff are said to have been penciled down for similar punishment for divulging information to indict the DG.
Recall that late last year, activities were paralyzed at the headquarters of the organization due to a protest by the workers under the umbrella of the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employees, AUPCTRE demanding better working condition and accusing the DG of intimidation and victimization of workers, disobeying directives of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment on voluntarism.
In a recent media report, Aboloma was alleged to have awarded fraudulent contracts without recourse to due process and procedure.
The report stated the DG single-handedly withdrawn two million naira monthly from the domiciliary account of the organization without approval of the organization and management board after he successfully frustrated efforts by some council members to hold statutory meetings by withholding information.
He was accused of running the agency like his personal estate, denying council members access to financial and administrative activities, like, record, budgets and expenditures, contracts, appointments promotion and discipline in the last three years. He calls for council meeting whenever he is so sure the sole agenda will approve his standards
The report further revealed that a total of nine billion naira worth of contracts were awarded in 2018 by Aboloma which exceeded the figure appropriated by the National Assembly. These contracts awarded were said to have been inflated while some had already been previously awarded and paid for.
He was also accused of using his inner caucus to extort millions of naira daily from factories. 13 companies belonging to Indians and Chinese which were supposedly shut down for falling below standard regulations, were later discovered to have been targeted by his monitoring task force who demanded sixty million naira from each of the factories before it can be reopened for operation. Those who could not meet this illegal requirement remained closed.