Nigeria’s finance minister appoints undergraduate as director, workers protest (photos)
– NAICOM workers have staged a protest against the comission’s mismanagement
– The protesters accuse the minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun of appointing an undergraduate as the agency’s director
Workers of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM), today, March 21, protested at the headquarters of the Commission in Abuja.
The disgruntled workers, just like their counterparts in Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), are asking President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the activities of NAICOM management.
The workers picketed the Commission located along Ladoke Akintola Boulevard in Abuja
The workers picketed the Commission located along Ladoke Akintola Boulevard in Abuja as early as 8am carrying placards with various inscriptions demanding the deputy commissioner for finance and administration, Mr George Onekhena to produce his re-appointment letter.
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Operating under the umbrella body of Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreational Service Employees (AUPCTRE) NAICOM branch, the protesting workers also urged the president to launch an investigation and save NAICOM from total collapse.
The workers wondered why the management of NAICOM was running the agency like a personal property. They also reported that there are ghost workers in the commission.
The protesters who were refused entry into NAICOM premises also vowed to ensure that the gate of the commission remains inaccessible until their demands are met by the management.
The protesters were refused entry into NAICOM premises
Leading the protest, the chairman of AUPCTRE NAICOM, Comrade Ibrahim Abdullate, accused the minister of finance, Kemi Adeosun, of violating due process of appointing an undergraduate as a director in the commission.
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The chairman disclosed that Barineka Thomson, the director of inspectorate, joined the commission in 2012 with NCE and ICAN certificates but actually graduated in 2013, meaning he was still an undergraduate as at the time he was made a director.
Speaking on other demands of the workers’ union, comrade Abdul said: “We entered into an agreement with the management in June 2015 concerning staff training which they promised to implement by January 2016 and till date nothing was done, instead they took politicians to Kaduna and Abekuta in Ogun state in which they claimed N9m was expended.”
The chairman also called for the proper management of the commission adding that the workers are being denied promotion even when they pass promotion exams.
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“Our demands revolve around welfare, security of our properties, impunity, to mismanagement in the Commission. We have reached a situation in NAICOM in which even if you pass promotion exams, you will not be promoted. And this is because the criteria keep changing. We have two of our members that were denied promotion, one of them was denied twice even when he passed the cut off mark,” he said.
At the time of filing this report the protesters were heard chanting Labour solidarity songs, while some stood in groups discussing various issues affecting the commission. Efforts to speak with the management proved abortive.
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