He alleged that senior ministry officials collected as much as N2.5 million from job seekers in exchange for fake employment letters.
A whistleblower, Martins Oghenerhoro Richard Atijegbe, formerly known as Richard Oghenerhoro Martins, has accused the Federal Ministry of Works of job racketeering and is now facing threats to his job for daring to expose the rot.
In a petition currently before the National Assembly, Fidelis detailed how top officials of the Ministry, under the leadership of Minister David Umahi, have allegedly been recruiting unqualified staff using fake letters of appointment and enrolling them into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) within weeks of their fraudulent employment.
“My petition to both chambers of the National Assembly has to do with employment racketeering involving the Minister of Works,” said Martins in a statement to the media.
“Some directors were bringing newly recruited staff with fake letters of appointment and documenting them on the IPPIS payroll system within a month.”
He alleged that senior ministry officials collected as much as N2.5 million from job seekers in exchange for fake employment letters.
“I am a staff member of the ministry. It was my schedule. The whole department of Human Resource Management. It is our Director who collected the sum of N2.5 million from people, like selling a job to them and within a month, he would issue fake documents to them and enrol them into IPPIS (Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System),” Martins said.
“I discovered that myself.”
Martins, who insists he acted within his official duty, lamented that he is now being targeted for victimisation instead of being protected as a whistleblower.
“I discovered it and made it public, and I am being persecuted for doing so. I am on the verge of losing my job, hence my petition to the Chairman, House Committee on Public Petitions,” he said.
The whistleblower’s petition filed by his lawyer, Liberty Semper Fidelis—No. 626 of 2025—is titled ‘Petition Against Federal Ministry Of Works Over The Complaint Of Fraud, Abuse Of Power, Breach Of Due Process, Conspiracy & Attempt Cover Up, Threat To Life & Job, False Allegation/Criminal Defamation And Undue Victimization Of Mr. Martins Oghenerhoro Richard Atijegbe, A Staff Of The Federal Ministry Of Works.’
It accuses senior officials of the ministry of orchestrating the fraudulent employment scheme and attempting to silence those who speak out.
A public hearing on the petition has been scheduled by the House Committee on Public Petitions.
A formal summons from the National Assembly requires Liberty Semper Fidelis to appear before the committee on Tuesday, May 6, 2025, at Room 429 (New Wing) of the House of Representatives, by 2:00 p.m.
The letter, issued on April 3, 2025, also warns that the case may be determined in the petitioner’s absence should he fail to appear.
However, Hon. Barr. Orji Uchenna Orji, Special Adviser (Media) to the Minister of Works, described the allegations as lacking “foundation, utterly irresponsible and incredibly fictitious”.
She said, “The Federal Ministry of Works under the watch of Sen. Engr. Nweze David Umahi CON is above board in terms of administrative discipline, fiscal and procurement responsibility, prudence, and the best standard in the management and execution of the mandate of the Ministry.
“I challenge the person making the allegation to show proof. It will be good for those operating in the media space to avoid media prosecution of innocent persons just to malign their reputation for ill motives.
“I invite such a person for debates on the issues on any media platform. The Honourable Minister is a man of proven track record of excellence, probity, and accountability in leadership, and he is passionately giving his best to the nation in ensuring that the Renewed Hope agenda of road infrastructure revolution is actualised.
“Under him in the Ministry, it is no longer business as usual. The code of service is Nigeria first. The standard of project delivery is quality, speed, and value for money. The Ministry has very capable men and women who drive the course of the Ministry and the result is a progressive harvest of enduring road infrastructure across the six geo-political zones of the nation.”
Repeated attempts to contact the Ministry’s Director of Legal Affairs, Sonny J. Inyang, and the Director of Human Resources Management, Alhaji Aliyu Abdullahi, went unanswered. They also did not respond to follow-up messages sent via SMS and WhatsApp.
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