Senior TCN workers frown against calls for sack of MD

The Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN ) chapter, has frowned against calls for the sack of the Managing Director, Mr Usman Mohammed.

The Chairman of SSAEAC, TCN chapter, Mr Dariyo Abedami said this while speaking with newsmen in Abuja on Friday.

According to Abedami, the chapter is disassociating its members from the activities of the national executive led by Mr Chris Okonokwo, who is a also a staff of TCN.

He said the members were against the call for the sack of TCN’s managing director, adding that staff of TCN had fared well since the emergence of the new managing director.

Abedami said that the protest organised by the national union was designed to frustrate the effort of Federal Government at providing electricity for Nigerians.

“We are not demonstrating, we are trying to guide the public because the national union has misguided them.

“The national is trying to misguide the public as far as our constitution is concerned, we are saddled with the responsibility of SSAEAC in TCN, and there is no way you will do anything that concerns staff in TCN without consulting us.

“We don’t know who they are representing, we the union leaders are here. “We have been mandated by our members to go ahead and dispel all the rumours by the national body calling for the sack of TCN managing director.

“There is no crisis in TCN, our salaries are being paid, we collect our salaries every 21st of the month, promotion exercise is being done when due, training for our engineers is ongoing.

“The national body is only trying to frustrate the Federal Government’s effort at ensuring regular electricity supply for Nigerians.

“They wanted to use us to achieve their personal aim against the management of TCN and we told them no.’’

According to him, it negates our Constitution Rule 32, Section 2 General, which provides for harmonious relationship where we are working.

Abedami said that the cause of dispute started when the National President lost the bid to become the general manager of Lagos zone of TCN.

“He mobilised some of us to compel the management to make him general manager, but we said no that it is not in the interest of the members.

“Since then, he declared war against the management, he has dragged us to Industrial Court, he has called security agencies for us,’’ Abedami said.

Our correspondent recalls that the national body of SSAEAC had on Aug. 14 staged a peaceful protest in TCN Headquarters in Abuja.

The workers, had through their General Secretary, Umar Abubakar accused TCN managing director of allegedly flouting most of the administrative procedures, which they claimed were inimical to their welfare.

According to them, the managing director allegedly single handedly conducted examinations for staff due for promotion without recourse to input from other management staff.

They also alleged that the managing director defaulted in remitting appropriate taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), a development that also led to the sealing up of the organisation on Aug. 13, even before the workers staged their protest.