Delta Assembly wants NNPC to re-absorb sacked workers
From Sunny Ogefere,
Asaba
THE Delta State House of Assembly has described as unjust the recent retrenchment of about 3,000 employees who had been on casual employment with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) for over 15 years.
In a motion they unanimously adopted, the lawmakers stated that it was unfair and inhuman for employees to be dropped from service after so many years without due compensation.
They called on President Olusegun Obasanjo to direct the NNPC to re-absorb all the casual and temporary workers dropped after many years of service with the company.
The adoption of the motion was sequel to a petition written by over 120 affected persons which was brought before the House of Assembly yesterday by the Deputy Speaker, Mr. Pius Ewherido, under matters of urgent pubic importance.
According to Ewherido, the petitioners have worked with the NPPC for between five and 17 years and were dropped suddenly after an interview session on the flimsy excuse that they were not fit to work in the company.
He said that if they had been sacked after three or six months, there would have been no problem "but to keep them for about 17 years and just drop them like that is inhuman, unjust and insensitive".
"It beats my imagination that someone who has served a company for more than 15 years could be assessed to be unfit to work in the organisation and sacked with just N100,000 terminal benefit in this present day Nigeria", he added.
The deputy speaker stated that apart from the fact that those affected were Delta indigenes, the action of the NNPC was highly insensitive and unacceptable.
He said: "Casualisation which is like slave labour has come under serious criticism. We are saying that we are against it particularly casualisation in this form".
The motion was seconded by the Minority Leader, Mr. Funkekeme Solomon and unanimously adopted when the Speaker, Mr. Young Igbrude put it to voice vote.
Meanwhile, the Assembly has directed its four members who were suspended last month, to resume sitting on August 2.
The decision followed the adoption of the report of the ad hoc committee set up by the Assembly to look into the alleged plans by the members to remove the leadership of the House.
The report found the members guilty of the allegations and recommended that they be suspended for another 26 days.
The Deputy Speaker of the House, Mr. Pius Ewherido, who pleaded for mercy on behalf of the suspended members, said it was in the spirit of reconciliation and the intervention by concerned individuals and leadership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state.
The suspended members of the House are Mr. Basil Ganagana (PDP- Patani); Mr. Ejaife Odebala (PDP Sapele); Misan Kubenje (PDP-Warri North) and Ovie Agas (PDP-Ughelli North I)
