How FIRS Chairman, Zacch Adedeji Illegally Employed His Wife, Oluwatosin As Chief Accountant

Zacch Adelabu Adedeji, the immediate past executive secretary of the National Sugar Development Council, NSDC, allegedly employed his wife, Oluwatosin Adedeji, as Chief Accountant while heading the agency, documents seen by SaharaReporters have revealed.

Adedeji, who is the current executive chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), was appointed to head the NSDC by former President Muhammadu Buhari in March 2021.

He was there until President Bola Tinubu appointed him as FIRS Chairman in September 2023.

The documents revealed that Oluwatosin was employed as the Chief Financial Officer of the agency on salary grade level 14 ( SGL14 Step 1) without the required public service experience and “near empty files”.

Also contrary to the conditions of the council, Adedeji signed the appointment letter of his wife instead of the Director of Human Resources Management.

According to council conditions of service, “Appointment letters for management staff (SSL. 03-01) shall be signed by the executive secretary,

“Director, Human Resource Management shall sign appointment letters for employees on SSL. 14 to 04.”

The appointment letter dated February 1, 2023, with reference number NSDC/HQS/AD/110/8.1/11 reads, “With reference to your application for employment to this organisation and your subsequent interview, I am directed to offer you appointment as Chief Accountant on Sugar Salary Level 04 Step 1 (equivalent to SGL. 14 Step 1), with effect from the day you assume duty.

“This appointment is in accordance with the terms and conditions of service of National Sugar Development Council,” part of the appointment letter signed by Adedeji read.

According to the Nigerian government establishment circular 2011-2023, the processes of recruitment and appointment into the federal civil service, are, “Obtaining annual authorised establishment from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation;

“Obtaining a waiver for recruitment from the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF) based on the year’s authorised establishment;

“Adherence to manpower budget for proposed recruitments, which must be approved by the supervising ministry or agency;

“Appropriate budgetary provisions to accommodate recruitments; the proposed

“Letter of clearance from the budget office of the federation to confirm budgetary provisions for the proposed recruitment; (vi) approval of the federal character commission for the distribution of vacancies for the proposed recruitment to ensure equitable distribution of vacancies among the States;

“Obtaining certificate of compliance from the federal character commission for the recruitment;

“Representations of the federal civil service commission as observers in recruitment processes in the Federal Ministries;

“Representation of the office of the head of the civil service of the federation [OHCSF], in order to ensure compliance with extant rules and procedures for recruitment; and

“In the case of agencies/parastatals, appropriate representations of supervising ministries and agencies to provide necessary guidance and give credibility to the exercise.”

Calls put across by SaharaReporters to Adedeji were not picked nor returned.

Also, a text message sent to his line was yet to be replied as of the time of this report.

– Sahara Reporters