The family of the Minister of Interior, Abba Moro, have tendered an apology to Nigerians over the immigration recuitment exercise that claimed the lives of 19 Nigerians last weekend.
The apology was communicated in a statement issued by the spokesman of the family, Mr. Major Agbo in Abuja earlier today.
The statement said, “We strongly share this moment of grief and pains with the immediate families of all those who lost their lives during the ill-fated recruitment exercise and beg Almighty God to comfort all parents, brothers, uncles and siblings of the deceased applicants while asking Him to give them eternal test in His bossom.
“We know that no words, no matter how solemn, coming from the family will be enough to atone for these loss suffered by the immediate families of the deceased applicants but we will still beg for the understanding of Nigerians to enable the ministry carry out proper investigation into this tragedy and tell Nigerians what really went wrong.”
The statement also condemned the “shoddy and clumsy fashion with which the exercise was conducted.”
Agbo said, “If the consultancy firm had done its job properly, it would have carried proper online screening of the applicants with the aim of pruning down the size that would be invited for the screening exercise having in mind the existing vacancies.
“The Honourable Minister is a member of the family and known seriously for his respect for sanctity of lives of people and cannot in anyway, celebrate the death of any human being as being insinuated in some quarters, but will however show respect for the opinions of individuals who have painted him in different light other than what we know about him.”
Once again, we plead for the understanding of all those who lost their dear ones in this incidence to show understanding as God knows better what has happened.
“Our heart, as a family is with you and we strongly believe that God almighty will comfort you during this period of grief. We are with you in prayers now and always. God bless Nigeria.”
He further said, “The Honourable Minister has over time, been known as a man of integrity, honesty, dedication to duty, thoroughness, commitment and we are still at a loss as to what probably may have gone wrong with this exercise.
“As the Head of the ministry, the task of overseeing the conduct of the exercise rested strictly with the Minister through the CG of NIS; what happened at the field did not reflect the numerous assurances received by the Honourable Minister from the consultants that all was going on smoothly”