From Bode Durojaiye, Oyo.
The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, Ambassador Godknows Igali, is under fire, no thanks to his comments before the Senate Committee on Power Sector that those claiming to be casual workers of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) “are mere personal staff with no proof of evidence to back up their appointments”.
He reportedly told the committee that there is no way they would be paid by the government because their appointments were never regularised.
But more than 500 casual workers of the Ibadan zonal headquarters of the defunct PHCN would have none of that.
In fact, at a press conference on Thursday in Oyo town, Oyo State, they described Igali as “a pathological liar”.
To them, Igali’s position on their plight “is wicked and unreasonable”.
The more than 500 casual workers are from 22 districts of the zone comprising Oyo, Ogun, Osun and part of Jebba in Kwara State.
The press conference was addressed by their president, Comrade Rasheed Olawunmi.
He urged the Senate Committee to disregard Igali’s position “because he is a pathological liar”.
To him, contrary to Igali’s position, a meeting was held on October 31, 2013 between officials of the Federal Government and representatives of
labour unions, including National Union of Electricity Employees to resolve outstanding labour issues ahead of handover of assets of the PHCN to private owners.
“At the meeting personally attended by the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Power, it was unanimously agreed amongst others that a total of 2,500 workers were casual workers within the PHCN system, as identified by the Presidential Committee set up by the last administration nationwide. Not only that, the meeting also resolved
that the issue of uncleared casuals should be treated on compassionate basis’’.
Olawunmi said when the list of verified casual workers was eventually released to zonal headquarters for payment and regularisation, Ibadan zone alone got a total of 1,000 casual workers.
“But rather than complying with the government directive, the then Chief Executive Officer of Ibadan zonal headquarters deliberately handpicked only 500 names out of the 1,000 sent to him by the government for payment and regularisation of appointments. Thus leaving behind remaining 500 casual workers yet to to receive their entitlements. All complaints and protests yielded no positive results.
“We were employed like every other employee in the company and placed on contract and casual basis. We were issued with appointment letters backed up with the promise of being regularised some day. We were interviewed in 2009, biometrically captured in 2011 and verified in 2012. Some of us were issued letters of regularisation of employment in April, 2012.The then management admitted to have omitted
several names which it attributed to the delay in releasing the
remaining letters. The error, as admitted by the then management, had not been rectified till today.
“What is more worrisome and disturbing is the denial of the Permanent Secretary before the Senate probe Committee in Abuja that there were no identified casual workers entitled to any payments or benefits. The Permanent Secretary was a signatory to the communique issued at the end of the meeting two years ago. We, the concerned casual workers, were at the two chambers of the National Assembly before their
expiration sometime last year to ventilate our displeasure over the unjust treatment meted out to us, but all to no avail’’.
He revealed that since they started the agitation, no fewer than 15 of their members had died of various ailments due to inability to afford costs of treatments.
Olawunmi, therefore, appealed to the Senate Committee to rescue them and ensure that they get their entitlements.
