Questions after the inglorious exit of data manipulator, Ukinebo Dare.
Adana John, Edo.
‘It is on account of these claims (of creating 200,000 jobs) that the erstwhile managing Director of Edo jobs Ukinebo Dare, landed a new job with a lagos based firm, but these claims are disputed and the integrity of the success of Edojobs is in serious doubt”
In the summer of year 2020 an erstwhile senior member of the Godwin Obaseki government not less than a former chief of staff who had earlier resigned from the government on personal grounds in an interview with an online media Chris Osa media, alleged in no mean words that he does not believe that Edo Jobs has created the number of jobs they claim they had created at the time, in response the government while not providing data to prove the young man wrong, lashed out at him and refer to him as a liar, but the issues raised by the World Bank consultant was not answered and they still hover around the agency till date.
It is interesting to note that Mr Akerele’s concern was not surprising as some analysts had severally and previously disputed the claims of the government over the number of jobs created in Edo state during the period.
Earlier before then, the state government had claimed to have created a total of 175,000 jobs during the 2019 edition of Alaghodaro summit to the applaud of many guests who were seated at the Edo hotel venue of the summit.
However, this is where it gets more interesting. How did Edo jobs create these so-called jobs within a two year period between 2018 and 2019? Who are these beneficiaries and who are their employers? How many percentages of these jobs are government owned and how many are private sector?
Jide Awoseyin, An Ibadan based HR practitioner asks ‘Does edojobs have the right to claim credit for jobs created by the private sector in the state? what is their input into the establishment of these enterprises?
Eseeosa Amadin an ICAN fellow and Tax consultant asked at the time and this is especially still relevant till date, how many taxes does the government earn from the new jobs created to give credibility to the so called new jobs?
A former Director at the EIRS had earlier complained in a meeting that when they invited the MD of Edo jobs to summit data of newly employed young persons by the agency for the purpose of creating Tax Identification Number (TIN) for them, they were told by a higher authority to back down.
Does helping to advertise vacancies created by SMEs in Edo state give the agency the right to claim credit for creating the so called jobs, asked Cynthia Efe, an HR practitioner based in Benin.
There is a story of one Enakhe from Irrua who was trained on solar panel maintenance, he was invited by Edo jobs to come and sit among other youths at Ekenwan road office of the Edo Hub center as one of the beneficiaries of Edo jobs, he was given a T shirt and N5,000 for transportation to and from Irrua, he was exhibited for the visiting vice president as one of the beneficiaries of Edo jobs, but today the same Enakhe is back to his farm in Irrua jobless but Edo jobs who facilitated the so called training has his name on their leaflet as a beneficiary of their jobs creation mechanism, now the question before members of the public is Mr Enakhe trained or employed?
Many analysts would want Edo jobs to distinguish between facilitating training and employment that brings food to the table of the beneficiary.
In beaming the searchlight on Edo jobs agency post the era of the ex-pompous, arrogant and power drunk Managing Director who has been alleged to be a data and power point manipulator to confuse unsuspecting members of the public, the following queries to the Edo state government have been posed;
How many jobs did Edo Jobs Agency create within the period Ukinebo Dare presided over the agency?
Are they verifiable?
Do they have employment letters?
Do you claim advertising jobs for SMES as part of your data of jobs creation?
Does Edo state have evidence of PAYE remittance from the new recruits?
What sort of role did EdoJobs provide to new SMEs during the period for instance did they pay for their CAC registration or gave them tax waiver? If yes is there evidence?
Does training of young people in different business ideas amount to jobs created? For instance, should the University of Benin claim credit for a job secured by a graduate in Union bank? There is need for clarity.
What is the spread of these 200,00 jobs across the 18 LGAs of the state? can we call for verification?
Is there an impact study indicating a reduction in crime such as yahoo and armed robberies based on the number of jobs created by Edo jobs?
Is it right for Edo jobs to claim credit for jobs created by normal government agencies such as SUBEB, Civil Service Commission, EDSTMA, EIRS and other agencies spread across the bureaucracy?
How much has Edojobs spent in the last 5 years in the course of “creating these jobs” do they have an open budget system that is verifiable and to be matched with outputs?
How much donor funding has edo state government received on account of running these jobs creation scheme in form of grants, loans and technical assistance?
Is Ukinebo Dare ready to recuse herself from her new job and defend these claims in a law suit when instituted with at least 25% of the 200,000 beneficiaries as her witness/exhibits?
Omon Obazele CEO of Women4Growth project an NGO argued that ‘I think that Edo state government has a duty to explain to the people of the state these issues raised above because it is on account of these claims by Edo jobs that an unsuspecting firm based in Lagos gave the erstwhile managing Director a new job with wider responsibility.
It is generally believed that there is need for confirmation of the integrity in the whole Edo jobs claims of creating 200,000 jobs in the state and all the underlying issues herein raised.
We expect a professional response from Edojobs without emotional attachment in the public interest.
