This application fee payment is contained in a memo signed by Permanent Secretary, Jacob R.O on behalf of the Head of Ogun State Civil Service Commission.
Governor Dapo Abiodun has been called out by Nigerians after his government demanded a nonrefundable ₦10,000 application fee before getting employment in the state’s civil service.
It was gathered that the demand for the application fee was contained in a memo signed by Permanent Secretary, Jacob R.O on behalf of the Head of Ogun State Civil Service Commission.
The memo stated that applicants would first pay the ₦10,000 to obtain teller for the application form. It is after the payment that applicants will be given the application form to fill.
The memo obtained by Peoples Gazette read: “Applicants are to obtain tellers from Room A261 at the Civil Service Commission for application form on payment of a non-refundable fee of ten thousand Naira (₦10,000) per candidate.
“The application forms and other credentials should be submitted to the office of the Director, Appointment and Transfer (Civil Service Commission) Block A, Room A233, state secretariat complex Oke-Mosan, in Abeokuta,“.
The state government is yet to respond to an enquiry on the memo.
However, the memo’s requirement has generated reactions from Nigerians on X platform.
A user, Mr Ebony @donald_segun, said the payment is extortion. “The idea of paying an application fee for a job must be unique to Nigeria, especially southern Nigeria.
“It’s an extortion of job seekers. Imagine taking ten thousand applications with a fee of #10K for a vacancy of one thousand.”
For Madam President (rtd) Iyabo Arinola Ifeoma Awokoya @iyaboawokoya, the payment was not wrong, but the price of ₦10,000 is high. “It is high, but some cost recovery measure is allowed in development projects. The state will set up a portal and man it and most likely, it will be given out to a private sector company. So to be honest, nothing wrong in a little fee, but ₦10k is high to me.”
Onuigbo @Igbomouthy said “₦10k to apply for a job from a state govt. Even outsourcing companies never do reach like this. This is fraud. After applying, what’s the probability of getting the job?”
Undemocratic Democrats @TonyIshola added that “Dapo Abiodun is not even resonating with the people he suppose to be leading. If APC wins any more elections in Nigeria, it means Nigerians haven’t suffered enough.”