The House of Representatives Committee on Reformatory Institutions have queried the Nigerian Correctional Service (NCS) over the delay to abide by the directive by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to recruit 5000 personnel into the service.

The Committee chaired by Mr. Chinedu Ogar at the 2025 budget defence session Wednesday charged the Acting Comptroller General of the NCS, Mr Sylvester Nwakuche Ndidi to expedite action on the recruitment of the personnel this year.

A member of the committee, Mr Victor Ogene who raised the issue wondered why the NCS chosen the delay the recruitment process since August last year to address the challenge of overcrowding in the Correctional centres across the country.

Ogene (LP: Anambra) called on the NCS Chief to liaise with the committee to fasts tract the employment process.

“I am sure if you were working closely with the chairman of the committee , the processes would have been easier,” he said.

“We knew of this approval since August. Some of us have been disturbing the chairman to know If the employment was done through the backdoor because we won’t accept that.”

Ndidi who absolved his office of blame on the matter explained that the recruitment process was delayed because it was not cashed backed to cater for the salaries and allowances of those that would have been recruited.

Nevertheless, he assured that the recruitment process would commence , subject to the approval of the civil defence , Correctional, fire, and immigration service board (CDCFIB) since the cost implications have been captured in the 2025 budget of his outfit.

Ndidi who was grilled by the lawmakers for over an hour over the usage of the 2024 budgetary provisions proposed an expenditure of N183.6 billion for his outfit with a breakdown of N127 billion for personnel cost, N45 .8 billion for overhead and N13.4 billion for capital expenditure, N38 billion as feeding cost at the rate of N1,125 each for 91,100 inmates, N7,7 billion to service other running cost like local travels, fueling of operational vehicles and capacity building for his personnel

Decrying the reduction of his budgetary provisions to the tune of N762 million on capital expenditure, he called on the lawmakers to upscale the budgetary provision by an additional N70.4 billion .

He explained that the monies will be expended toward the installation of modern technology, integrated systems for custodial facilities such as CCTVs, surveillance cameras, and accessories in the maximum and minimum security custodial centers nationwide.

He added that the service will also embark on the general rehabilitation and digitalization of inmates and personnel activities in the custodial centers nationwide, upgrading and equipping of the service’s seven training institutions for the modern ICT-compliant training centers, purchase of operational vehicles, arms and ammunition, inmate biometric scanners, security gadgets, body cameras, access control and guard tow systems, staff communication gadgets, such as walking towers.