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Tag: staff

  • JUST IN: Police take over NASS, stop staff, others from entering

    JUST IN: Police take over NASS, stop staff, others from entering

    Operatives of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) have taken over the National Assembly, preventing staff, journalists and others from entering the complex.

    The police who took strategic positions from the State House entrance, turned back whoever dared to enter the gate of the legislative premises.

    The lock down follows a directive by the leadership of the National Assembly who asked the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) and the police to secure the chamber for plenary.

    The move, according to a statement by the Clerk to the National Assembly, Mohammed Sani-Omolori is to “enable members and staff come in and perform their legitimate duties without any hinderance.”

    Recall that staff of the National Assembly under the umbrella body of Parliamentary Staff Association of Nigeria (PASAN) on Monday prevented staff of the complex from working in protest of what they called poor working conditions.

    A similar protest was held two weeks ago when the workers demanded pay rise, promotions trainings among other things.

    The Monday protest follows a four-day warning strike that commenced on Monday.

    The strike may affect President Muhammadu Buhari’s presentation of the 2019 Appropriation Bill to the joint National Assembly on Wednesday.

    On Tuesday, hundreds of staff of the assembly were seen in front of the complex stranded.

    TNG however reports that the House of Representatives plenary has commenced. It is being presided by the Deputy Speaker, Yusuf Lasun at 12:11pm with just few members present.

    Details later…

  • 2019: INEC promotes 2,209 staff member

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), says it has promoted 2,209 members of staff in its 2018 promotion exercise.

    The commission disclosed this in a statement issued by Mohammed Haruna, INEC National Commissioner and Member, Information and Voter Education Committee on Thursday in Abuja.

    The breakdown of the promoted staff according to Mr Haruna include 847 junior and 1,362 senior staff.

    Mr Haruna said that the commission at its weekly meeting held on Thursday considered, among other things, the report of its Appointment, Promotion and Disciplinary Committee (AFDC) on the 2018 promotion exercise.

    “In furtherance to the Commission’s commitment to the welfare of its staff, 2,209 were promoted.

    “Out of a total of 927 junior staff who sat for the 2018 promotion examinations, 847 passed and were promoted accordingly.

    “Of the 1,847 senior staff who took the exams, 1,517 passed. However, 1,362 were promoted in accordance with the existing vacancies.

    “Out of this number, 315 persons were promoted to Directorate Cadre, eight of whom have become Directors,” he said.

     

     

  • Atiku mocks Buhari, approves N33,000 minimum wage for his staff

    Atiku mocks Buhari, approves N33,000 minimum wage for his staff

    The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party, Atiku Abubakar, has approved for all of his staff in his corporation, N33,000 as minimum wage.

    The managing director of the Atiku owned, Gotel Communications, Mohammed El-Yakub, confirmed this in a statement on Thursday.

    The Gotel Communications is based in Yola.

    “The N33,000 new salary scale, which takes effect from November 2018, includes domestic servants and all categories of workers on the former vice president’s payroll,” El-Yakub said.

    This is following the recommendation of the proposed N30,000 as minimum wage by the tripartite committee set up by the Federal Government on Wednesday.

    Recall that Atiku had on Wednesday said President Muhammadu Buhari cannot be trusted to implement the proposed N30,000.

    In a statement issued by his media office, the presidential hopeful said Buhari, who is known for ‘flip-flopping’ may not have the political will to implement the new wage which he said does not even translate to a ‘living wage’.

    It said Buhari has failed to note that the workers are the goose that ‘lay the golden eggs’ which members of his administration are enjoying. It added that the government has become synonymous with flip-flopping in policy implementation.

    However, Buhari said while receiving the Tripartite Committee’s report on the Review of the National Minimum Wage on Wednesday that he will transmit an Executive bill (on National Minimum Wage) to the National Assembly for its passage within the shortest possible time and that he is committed to new minimum wage

    “Our plan is to transmit the Executive bill to the National Assembly for its passage within the shortest possible time.”

    “I am fully committed to having a new National Minimum Wage Act in the very near future.”

  • Boko Haram kills NEMA staff

    Workers of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) have been thrown into mourning, following the killing of a colleague by Boko Haram insurgents.

    Excavator Operator John Iliya was killed by Boko Haram jihadists on August 8 at Damasak in Borno, according to a statement by NEMA on Thursday in Abuja.

    Mr Iliya is the latest victim of the Islamic insurgency that flared since 2009, killing more than 20,000 people and displacing up to 2.5 million residents of Nigeria’s North-east.

    Spokesman of NEMA, Sani Datti, said that the Director-General of NEMA, Mustapha Maihaja, had dispatched a team to Maiduguri to facilitate the return of Iliya’s remains to the family.

    Mr Datti said that Iliya, who was working with troops on the front lines died in the line of duty.

    The insurgents have been fighting at many fronts for almost a decade, in a bid to enforce a strict Islamic code in Northern Nigeria.

    The insurgents, whose activities have also been felt in Chad, Niger and Cameroon, have been packing punches regularly, hitting civilian targets and other soft spots in Nigeria’s North-east.

  • Job opening: Skye Bank recruits entry level staff nationwide

    Skye Bank has announced plans to recruit fresh graduates into its employment at entry level.

    The recruitment exercise aims to create employment opportunities for young employees into the organization whilst positioning the bank for improved competition in retail banking services across the country.

    Candidates wishing to apply are expected to visit the bank’s website at www.skyebankng.com, fill the form and submit online.

    Speaking on the recruitment exercise, the Group Head, Human Capital Management of the bank, Mr. Taiwo Olupeka, stated: “We remain an employer of choice and as a responsible corporate citizen, we are poised to create fair opportunities for young Nigerians to attain their career aspirations in one of Nigeria’s leading financial institutions. This step also enables us address in some measure the menace of youth unemployment in Nigeria”.

    The recruitment process involves the selection of qualified candidates from a pool of applicants across the country who will be taken through a 9-week rigorous training at the bank’s Training Schools before absorption into the system as full employees.

    Skye Bank operates a world-class Business School which enjoys the full accreditation of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) as a banking/finance, business and continuous human capital training academy.

    The fully residential Skye Business School runs two campuses in Ilupeju, Lagos and Eleyele, Ibadan both with state-of-the-art facilities and conducive learning environment running robust programs including but not limited to; Skye Graduate Intensive Program (SGIT) and Onboarding Program for Experienced Hires.

    The school has graduated over 1,294 officers from 27 streams of its flagship Skye Business School graduate trainee (SGIT) program since its inception in 2006.

  • 18 years after judgement, Supreme Court voids Mobil’s sack of 860 Nigerian staff

    …Orders their immediate re-engagement, payment of outstanding salaries, allowances

    The Supreme Court has voided the sack by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited of about 860 Nigerians employed on or before the year 2000 as security officers but named by the company Supernumerary Police officers (SPY).

    The Supreme Court, in a unanimous judgment of five justices, held that it was illogical and without legal backing for Mobil to have employed the Nigerians and sought to off-load them to the Nigeria Police through the back door.

    The judgement was on an appeal marked:SC/33/2010 filed by Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited against the 2009 Court of Appeal judgment which upheld the Nigerian workers’ claim to being employees of the oil giant.

    The Supreme Court, in the lead judgment by Justice Olabode Rhodes-Vivour, but read Friday by Justice John Okoro, upheld the earlier Court of Appeal’s decision in the case, which agreed that the Nigerians, led by Okon Johnson, were and are still Mobil’s staff and should be accorded all benefits.

    The Court of Appeal also ordered Mobil to pay the Nigerian staff all outstanding allowances and salaries from when they were purportedly variously disengaged.

    While summarising the lead judgment, Justice Okoro said: “the summary of the facts is that the 1st to 15 respondents were employed by the appellants as Supernumerary Police officers (SPY) and issued with appointment letters.

    “Thereafter, it (appellants) tried to off-load them (the 1st to 15 respondents) to the Nigeria Police, a decision the Nigerian employees rejected.

    “The court below upheld their argument that they are not police officers, but staff of Mobil Nigeria Unlimited

    “So Mobil appealed to this court. And after we have painstakingly looked at all the exhibits before us, including the appointment letters. And we have also looked at the Police Act as it relates to the mode of appointment of SPYs.

    “We agree with the lower court that the respondents were employed by Mobil Nigeria Unlimited as their security staff.

    “There is nothing in the Police Act, which gives Mobil the authority to appoint security officers and then, off-load them to the Nigeria Police.

    “If the Police Council wanted to appoint SPYs it would have done in accordance with the Police Act, which it failed to do.

    “The law is very clear. Whoever wants the services of policemen in its establishment, should apply to the Inspector General of Police (IGP). The IGP would then request for and receive clearance from the President of the country.

    “After receiving clearance from the President, the IGP will now authorise the Police Council to direct the Police Service Commission (PSC) to appoint. That is the way the law puts it.

    “The PSC will now appoint these officers and then, post them to any establishment that requires them.

    “But, in this case, Mobil advertised for recruitment, conducted interview, issued them with appointment letters; and then, gave them that name: Supernumerary Police Officers (SPY).

    “Whatever name you give them, the basis is, who appointed them? So, whoever appointed them is their boss, which is Mobil Nigeria Unlimited.

    “So, this appeal lacks merit and its is hereby dismissed. The judgment of the lower court is upheld,” Justice Okoro said.

    The apex court also dismissed a similar appeal by the IGP, on the ground that it was unnecessary and a waste of public funds.

    The Nigerian workers were variously employed in early 1990s by Mobil in its security unit. But for unknown reasons, the company chose to refer to them as: “SPY Police of Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited,” a decision that later created confusion over the actual status of the workers.

    In 2000 a dispute arose about the status of the security guards, with Mobil claiming to have transferred their employment to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).

    Mobil claimed it engaged them as SPY police personnel, and not actual staff; a claim the affected workers disputed, with some of them refusing to be transferred out of their stations.

    They (the Nigerian workers) alleged being victimised, with some sacked unceremoniously for insisting on right to being entitled to be treated as other employees of Mobil.

    They further alleged that, aside from being subjected to harsh working condition, they were compelled to sign a document identified as “Mobil Producing Nigeria status agreement for supernumerary police service condition agreement.”

    The workers said although some of them succumbed and endorsed the documents, others stood their ground, and later sought the protection of the court by filing a suit at the Federal High Court, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, marked: FHC/UY/CS/2004.

    In a judgment on January 24, 2006, Justice Gladys Olotu of the Federal High Court (now compulsorily retired by the National Judicial Council) ruled in favour of Mobil.

    The judge said, among others, that although the Mobil did not fully comply with the requirement under the Police Act, in recruiting SPY policemen, it could be assumed that it complied, having substantially complied with some of the regulations

    The Nigerian workers appealed Justice Olotu’s decision at the Court of Appeal, Calabar, Cross River State, which rendered its judgment on May 21, 2009 a nullity.

    A three-man panel of the Appeal Court, in its May 21, 2009 judgment, held among others, that the Nigerian workers were Mobil’s employees and ordered it to assume its responsibilities as they relate to the Nigerian workers. The panel comprised Justice Kumai Akaahs, Jean Omokri and Theresa Orji-Abadua.

    Justice Orji-Abadua observed, in the lead judgment, that: “It is clear in exhibits D and E (Mobil’s letters to the Police, requesting training for its security recruit) that the 1st respondent (Mobil) was referring to their own security men as Supernumerary Police recruit, and it wanted them to be trained by the Nigeria Police in respect of which it made application to the Commissioner of Police in charge of Cross River State.”

    She noted that: “Section 18(1) & (2) of the Police Act expressly stated the way and manner a supernumerary police officer will be appointed upon the application of the person desiring to take advantage of the services of police for protection of his property. It is clear that any step short of the ones prescribed by the Police Act will be null and void.

    “The appellants were not employed by the Nigeria Police Force and then appointed as Supernumerary Police Officers by the Police Service Commission on the directive of the Inspector general of Police for the protection of the 1st respondent’s property as envisaged by Section 18(1) & (2) of the Police Act.

    “They were and still are the employees of the 1st respondent since there was no affidavit evidence indicating that the appellants’ employment had been determined by the 1st respondent,” Justice Orji-Abadua said.

    Mobil and the IGP appealed the Appeal Court’s judgment separately, the appeals that were dismissed Friday by the Supreme Court for lacking in merit.

  • Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC speaks on disengagement of staff

    Nigerian Embassy in Washington DC speaks on disengagement of staff

    The Nigerian Embassy in Washington, DC, has said that the recent disengagement of some workers at the embassy followed due process.

    Senior officials at the embassy told newsmen that the benefits of the 15 local workers, who were recently laid off, would be paid soon.

    They said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Abuja, approved the disengagement of the workers due to some ongoing rationalisation of workers at the embassy.

    The officials, however, said the ministry had also approved the payment of gratuities to the workers, some of whom had worked with the embassy for more than 30 years.

    Some of the affected workers had alleged that the decision to lay them off was arbitrary.

    They also alleged that the embassy had no plans to pay their gratuity and other severance benefits.

    Further, the local staff, who were mostly Nigerians, had accused the Mission of retaining the non-Nigerian employees at the expense of those who are of Nigerian nationality.

    However, the embassy officials denied that there was no prior notice to the disengaged workers, saying they actually agreed to the arrangement since February 2017.

    They also assured the workers that the processes for the payment of their entitlements had reached an advanced stage.

    One of the officials said: “In February 2017, there was a decision to disengage some of the local staff.

    “However, they pleaded to an arrangement to be on contract for another one year, which lapsed in February 2018. The ministry from Abuja approved their disengagement.

    “As I am talking to you, we have received approval from Abuja to pay their benefits and they would be paid very soon. It is true that some of them have put in up to 30 years of service.

    “They were engaged on contracts and it is the decision of the government to either continue to renew their contract or to terminate it if their services are no longer needed.

    “Some whose contracts were terminated in 2013 were not paid in full but we are working out their benefits to make sure that those whose appointments were terminated receive their full benefits.

    “It is also not true that they were arbitrarily disengaged; they were aware of the contract and they signed on to it since last year”.

    Recall that the embassy, in 2017, had several disagreements with the local workers over the non-payment of salaries spanning several months, leading to protest at the embassy at the time.

    Some of the workers also embarked on work to rule, which disrupted consular services at the embassy before they were paid following approval of three months’ salary by the ministry.

     

     

  • UBA Rewards High Performance, Promotes 2,000 Staff Across Africa

    In line with its commitment to reward excellence and high performance, Pan-African financial institution, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc, has announced the promotion and elevation of about 2000 of its work force, representing about 17% of total staff strength across the group.

    This is in recognition of the remarkable contribution the staff members have made to the bank’s business growth as highlighted by the impressive performance recorded in its recently released 2017 financial year end results.

    The announcement, which came on Monday, is especially heartening in the face of the numerous economic challenges faced by major financial institutions on the continent, most of whom are yet to recover from the impact of the recessive business climate that rocked many companies in 2016 and a greater part of last year.

    It is important to note that about a year ago, the bank had promoted 3,000 staff members, 25% of its workforce, while also doling out cash rewards to deserving staff for exemplary conduct and performance that year.

    This year’s promotion, as with others, have been commended by human resources analysts who have noted that UBA, which was mentioned in a recent survey as one of the “Best 100 Companies To Work For in Nigeria” has become synonymous with rewarding excellence. The announcement has also been greeted with joy and enthusiasm by the workforce of the bank.

    The affected staff that cut across all units, divisions and 19 countries where UBA operates were selected after the completion of appraisal system that identified high performers in the bank among other criteria.

    The Bank’s Group Managing Director/CEO, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka in an email to staff of the bank described the promotion as ‘dividends of hardwork’, adding that with the recent proclamation of UBA as the African Bank of 2017 by the Banker Magazine; as well as the ranking as Best of Bank of the Year in Cameroun, Congo Brazzaville, Senegal and Tchad, it is only right to recognise, reward and celebrate the performance of the staff who have worked tirelessly to achieve this.

    Uzoka charged staff to continue to embody the Bank’s core values in their endless quest of delivering excellent services to both internal and external customers of the Bank.

    He said, “I congratulate all for their well-deserved elevation. I also wish to especially thank those colleagues who have not made it on this year’s list. I implore you to keep up your contribution, as your efforts are recognised. There are several other ways that we will continue to reward and recognise your contributions and we intend to use all opportunities to demonstrate this.”

    United Bank for Africa Plc is a leading financial services group in sub-Saharan Africa, with presence in 19 African countries, as well as the United Kingdom, the United States of America and France.

    From a single country operation founded in 1949 in Nigeria, Africa’s largest economy, UBA has emerged as a pan-African provider of banking and other financial services, to 10 million customers globally, through one of the most diverse service channels in sub-Sahara Africa; 632 business offices, 1,750 ATMs, some 13,500 PoS, and a robust online and mobile banking platform.

    UBA was the first Nigerian bank to make an Initial Public Offering (IPO), following its listing on the NSE in1970. It was also the first Nigerian bank to issue Global Depository Receipts (GDRs). The shares of UBA are publicly traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the Bank has a well-diversified shareholder base, including foreign and local institutional investors as well as individual shareholders.

  • Ganduje orders Kano hospitals’ staff to sign anti-strike agreement

    Governor Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano State has said prospective employees of Giginyu Specialist Hospital and Zoo Road Pediatric Hospital constructed by the state government, may have to sign a bond, forbidding them from going on incessant strikes.

    Ganduje gave the indication while inaugurating a 20 – man Advisory Committee on the operations of the hospitals, expected to be commissioned soon by President Muhammadu Buhari.

    “It will not be business as usual. Anybody serving in the two hospitals must sign an agreement that he or she will not go on strike,” the governor emphasized.

    He stated that the move was part of strategy to ensure maintenance culture, stressing that “it will not be worthwhile for the government to spend so much money in constructing and equipping the hospitals only for their workers to embark on strikes at will.”

    “We will not create a situation where our facilities will be vandalized. Our facilities will not be routed to private hospitals, our facilities will not be destroyed,” he added.

    He pointed out that the two new hospitals were built mainly to reduce medical tourism by providing high quality health care services to people from across the country and beyond, hence, anything that would jeopardize the vision of constructing them would not be tolerated.

    On the Advisory Committee of the hospitals, Dr. Ganduje said it would among other things, examine the progress of constructing and equipping them and advice on timely completion as well as articulate a proposal on their operational guidelines.

    The chairman of the committee, Dr. Aminu Mgashi said it would do a methodical job within the four weeks time frame set for it by the government.