A female staff of Federal Inland Revenue Service, FIRS, Rumuokwurushi MSTO, Mrs. Clara Chuku Ukpan Ukpan, has died weeks after she was transferred out of Rivers State because she reportedly refused the sexual advances of her boss.
A close source who spoke with Africa Update, narrated that Ukpan, a junior staff at the FIRS, had allegedly complained of the sexual harassment from the State Coordinator South-South Region, Hamsu Ibrahim, popularly known as H.M. Ibrahim, her and other female staff had to contend with.
The source said, H.M Ibrahim, took over as the South South Coordinator in 2021 and since then, there has not been an ounce of peace especially for women, most of whom are married.
While men who were not loyal to his leadership were posted to remote locations including Jalingo. The source alleged that H.M Ibrahim’s close ties with the Human Resources Department in Abuja, has made every attempt to redeploy to safer locations impossible because the HR has reportedly been compromised.
The source revealed that Mrs. Ukpan received a memo dated 20th May, 2022, with official reference code: FIRS/ HQA/ HCM/ GSM/ 7196, notifying her that she had been redeployed from Rumuokwurushi MSTO to Auchi MSTO, and should report for duty on or before May 30th.
Consequently, Mrs. Ukpan, had traveled to Auchi, and stayed at a hotel where she paid N10,000 every night. When she could not continue paying for the hotel room after staying there for several months, she moved into a friend’s apartment, pending the payment of the transfer allowance as stipulated in the FIRS Human Resource Policies and Processes, page 165 section 7.6.9: captioned: Allowances for First Appointment or Transfer.
That section sighted by Africa Update reads: ” Officers on posting or on assumption of duty on new appointment at their Station, different from their City/Town of residence/ domicile shall be eligible for the payment of allowance for the first 28 days in lieu of hotel accomodation at the existing duty tour allowance (DTA) for their respective city of posting/ transfer.
“Where an employee is recruited or transferred and is required to report for duty at a city / town of residence/ domicile different from his former location, he or she is entitled to the following: (I) Transport for himself/herself, spouse and maximum of 4 Children below the age of eighteen (18 years) at an approved rate of kilometer allowance per person where transportation is by vehicle. Transportation by air shall be reimbursed at the actual costs together with other local running costs to and from the Airport on presentation of flight tickets used; (ii) Transport of personal effects shall be reimbursed at actual cost.”
Mrs. Ukpan had reportedly waited endlessly for the payment of the transfer allowance which never came until she was rushed to Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Irrua in Edo State. Attempts to save her failed as she died on Friday August 5, due to complications from an undisclosed ailment, leaving behind her husband Dr. Ukpan Anthony and four Children: Favour Ukpan, Emmanuel Ukpan, Destiny Ukpan and Merit Ukpan.
According to other sources, H.M. Ibrahim, has worked at various departments within Rivers State for over 20 years and has never been transferred to other states. They expressed concerns about his continuous stay at the Rivers State Office which is now reportedly responsible for unspeakable and unimaginable hardship.
They noted that if something is not urgently done by Governors from the Region and the Federal Government, to address the current happenings within the FIRS in the South South Region, the outcome could lead to more fatalities.
