13112019 - Protesters storm DSS Hq, want Sowore, Bakare freed

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Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 13, 2019—33
TRAINING: From left—Director, Energy, Bureau of Public Procurements, BPP, Engr. Babatunde
Kuye; Director, Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Lagos Liason Office, Dr. Folasade Caiafas;
General Manager, Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, Mr. Onafowote Idowu; Director, Investigation,
Intelligence and Monitoring, Code of Conduct Bureau, CCB, Dr. Gwimi Peters, and BPP Director,
Compliance, Certification and Monitoring, Engr. Ishaq Yahaya, at the 2019 Second Batch Conversation
Training/Programme for procurement cadre of federal parastatals and agencies in Oshodi, Lagos.
Unpaid salaries: 500 teachers
protest, block C-River gov’s office
By Ike Uchechukwu
CALABAR—AGAIN, no
fewer than 500 science
teachers in Cross River State,
yesterday, blocked the state
Governor’s Office with mats,
wrappers in protest over the
alleged removal of their
names from the payroll of the
state.
They also raised the alarm
over non-payment of their
salaries for the months
September and October,
adding that they have turned
to beggars and doing odd
jobs in a bid to survive.
It will be recalled that the
teachers had on November
5, blocked the gate to the
Governor’s Office, denying
workers and visitors entry
and exit from the office.
Speaking with Vanguard,
spokesperson of the
teachers, Mr Kenneth
Bisong said that they
(teachers) don’t understand
the rationale behind the Ben
Ayade-led administration’s
decision to stop paying them
and the removal of their
names from the payroll.
“We are among the best
brains as far as science
teaching is concerned in
Cross River State. Our
recruitment in 2015 was done
by Educom, an Indian firm
with a proven track record of
standard and excellence.
“Initially, we didn’t know
that something has
happened until our
colleagues stared getting
paid and our people were
not. We went to relevant
offices to find out what
happened. We discovered
that our names had been
removed from the payroll by
the state government.
“Our names were removed
from the payroll in
September, we started work
•...occupy gov’s office with mats,wrappers
since 2015, but we were
paroled in January 2016. We
are about 500 teachers
affected and it could be more.
“Government didn’t follow
the service rules, we don’t
know what the government
wants to achieve by
removing our names from
the payroll and treating us
unjustly.
“We are the live-wire of
secondary schools, we are
the soul of our younger ones,
tomorrow’s leaders. Does the
government intend to
engage quacks? All we want
is the payment of our
September and October
salary arrears.”
By Harris Emanuel
UYO—A group of ex -
service contract
workers with Mobil
Producing Nigeria
Unlimited has appealed
to
President
Muhammadu Buhari to
order investigation into
the delay in payment of
N11.4 billion owed 1,444
sacked workers of the
company since 2012.
Secretary-General of the
group, Ubong Eshiet
made the call, yesterday,
while interacting with
newsmen in Uyo, Akwa
Ibom State.
He said, they decided to
bring the matter to the
attention of the President
for intervention, since
MPN was showing
lackadaisical attitude
towards the payment of
their severance package/
welfare after their sack,
No one was
sacked—Govt
When contacted, Special
Adviser, Media and Publicity
to Governor Ayade, Mr
Christian Ita said it was just
an audit by government as
no one had been sacked.
“Nobody has been sacked,
it is just an audit. A lot of
people who joined the civil
service in 2015 did so
through the back door. There
is no cause for alarm, no one
has been sacked.
“The governor is doing a
cleansing of the state payroll
in other to delete ghost
workers. Nobody has sacked
them. Government has
Ex-Mobil workers petition Buhari
over N11.4bn severance package
adding that such delay
was at variance with the
Federal Government’s
road-map for sustainable
peace in the Niger – Delta
region.
Eshiet also disclosed
that for the eight years
that the company denied
them what he described
as “end-of-servicebenefits,”
life has been
unbearable as many of
them live in abject
poverty and dejection.
He said: “The matter has
failed to materialise, even
after the former Minister
of State for Petroleum, Dr
Ibe Kachikwu and
outgone GMD, NNPC,
Dr Maikanti Baru, had
assured during a meeting
in Abuja with us that the
severance package would
be paid.
“The House of
Representatives
Committee on Public
realised that because
approval was given for
employment in some areas,
the people in charge resorted
to over employment.
“In some cases, over 200
persons were approved for
employment, the people
saddled with the
responsibility recruited 700
staff. So, nobody has been
sacked. “Those whose
employment are genuine
have been given letters for
re-validation of their
employment. This means
that those that were
genuinely employed are to
be restored back to the
payroll,” Ita said.
Petition during President
Goodluck Jonathan’s
administration, was aware
of this before it was
allegedly swept under the
carpet on the orders of the
company.
“The company has
breached the Collective
Bargaining Agreement,
CBA, it signed with the
workers on July 10, 2010
. We therefore, call on
President Buhari to order
a thorough investigation
into the delay in the
payment of N11.4 billion
severance benefits to 1,
444 sacked service
contract workers since
2012.”
Media
and
Communication
Manager, Mobil,
Ogechukwu Udeagha
could not be reached at
press time, as calls to his
cell phone were not
answered.
Failed federal roads:
Delta govt shuts
Asaba-Ilah-Uromi Road
By Festus Ahon
ASABA—DELTA State
Commissioner for
Works, Mr. James Augoye,
yesterday, announced the
partial closure of the
Asaba-Ilah-Uromi Federal
Road, following the
collapse of a three cell
culvert due to the velocity
of the water.
Augoye who made this
known in a chat with
newsmen in Asaba, said:
“It is no longer advisable
for motorists to continue to
use the road. The section
eaten by water is as deep
as one meter.
“We have informed the
Federal Government about
the development. But in
the interim, we have
contacted our contractors to
fill the sections washed
away by water. They will
fill the eroded
embankment with laterite.
“We have also decided
to close the lane that had
failed, and there are
diversions for motorists.
We have informed officials
of Delta State Transport
By Onozure Dania
TWO businessmen,
Akinfolabi Akindele
and Taiwo Oyewunmi
have dragged the
Inspector-General of
Police, Deputy Inspector-
General of Police, Assistant
Inspector-General of
Police and Commissioner
of Police to court over
violation of their
fundamental human
rights.
In the fundamental
rights enforcement suit
before a Lagos High Court
sitting in Ikeja, the
applicants are praying the
court to declare that the
arrest and detention of
Oyewunmi by the 7th and
8th respondents on
October 22, 2019 on the
instruction of 1st to 6th
respondents is
unconstitutional, null and
void.
Joined in the suit as 5th
to 9th respondents are
Deputy Commissioner of
Police, Ali Mohammed,
Taofik Tijani, Sergeant
Musa Mohammed,
Ibrahim Dalatu and
Biodun Aguda.
The applicants are
asking the court to declare
that the invitation of
Akindele by the IGP
Monitoring Units, Abuja,
to appear before it on
October 28, 2019 is illegal,
Management Agency,
DESTMA and Federal
Road Safety Corps,
FRSC, to be on ground
to ensure non-usage of
the closed section.”
He assured motorists
plying Enerhen Road in
Warri area of the state that
the Udu bridge is safe for
use, adding that the
concrete bridge built in
1970 by Dumex
Construction Company
did not fail.
Insisting that the
bridge is very strong for
motorists, Augoye said
when the disturbing
report about the
purported failure of the
bridge got to his office, a
team of engineers were
dispatched to carry out
integrity test.
Augoye, flanked by the
Commissioner for
Information, Mr. Charles
Aniagwu, called on the
Federal Government to
urgently undertake a
comprehensive
rehabilitation of the
Benin-Sapele-Warri
Highway.
Bizmen drag IG, DIG, AIG,
commissioner to court
unconstitutional, null
and void on the ground
that land matters is not
within
the
contemplation of the
functions of the Police
because it is a civil
matter.
The applicants are
further praying the
court to declare that
they are entitled to their
personal liberty,
freedom of movement,
right to dignity and
compulsory acquisition
of property as
entrenched in Chapter
IV of Section 34, 35(6),
36, 44 and 46(1) (2) of
1999 Constitution (as
amended) and Articles
5, 6, 7, 12, 14 of African
Charter on Human and
People’s Rights
Ratification and
Enforcement Law of the
Federation of Nigeria
2004.
Akindele and
Oyewunmi want the
court to order the
respondents to tender
public apology to them
for the breach of their
fundamental rights.
The applicants are
also seeking an
injunction restraining
the first to eighth respondents,
from further
interfering in land
matters in Alaka/Stadium
Area, Lagos State.