Protest in Abuja over AEDC employment scam exposed by PREMIUM TIMES

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The Nigeria Union of Electricity Employees on Tuesday protested in Abuja to demand the sack and prosecution of officials allegedly involved in a recruitment scam and fraudulent allocation of outrageous salaries and perks to a few officials of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company.

NUEE officials across the country on Tuesday stormed the Headquarters of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company in the Zone 4 District of Abuja where they staged a protest demanding the sack and prosecution of the officials.

The deputy president of NUEE in the north, Issac Abege, who said he came in from his base in Yola, Adamawa state, to participate in the protest, told PREMIUM TIMES the staff of the electricity firm were tired of the fraud being perpetrated by a few management staff of the company.

“We are protesting the fraud being perpetrated by some management of Abuja Electricity Distribution Company. AEDC, as a result of that expose by PREMIUM TIMES,” he said.

PREMIUM TIMES had reported that while a privileged few draw as high as N36 million a month from the public liability company operating at a deficit, majority of equally qualified and even more critical staff absorbed from the previous government-owned Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, receive peanuts.

AEDC hasrecorded losses for over two years, but at the same time, some top officials chose to pay outrageous salaries to a select few.

As part of the racket, the highest paid director takes home N36 million a month, while a staff with Ordinary National Diploma takes home as high as N1.9 million monthly.

While this select few earn jumbo perks, majority of the key staff retained from PHCN are paid peanuts – between N50, 000 and N150, 000.

Two officials, the Executive Director, Human Resources and Corporate Affairs, Tolulope Mark-Ojie, and Head, Organisational Development & Learning, Yusuf Mosunmolsa, who were said to be the brain behind the scam were reportedly suspended from office on Friday.

The suspension order, said to be the first step in a gale of sanctions likely to affect several others, sent shock waves across the electricity distribution company, particularly among top officials.

The Staff of the firm and their union colleagues from elsewhere, who staged the protest Monday, said the management of the company should go beyond suspending the official.
They said guilty officials should be sacked.

“Those behind this fraud must be arrested and prosecuted because they are killing the economy. Such a criminality should not be allowed to go unchecked,” Mr. Abege told PREMIUM TIMES.

He also said NUEE would not allow the matter to die because that would mean they are incapable of protecting the interest of staff of the company.

“The Union is not sleeping and would work to ensure that we continue to fight for what is right and to also ensure adequate welfare of all employees.

“The government which sold this asset to them should please come in quickly and do the needful before it is too late.

“Doing the needful should be as it concerns that perpetrators of this crime must be arrested and prosecuted,” he said.

Several attempts to speak with the spokesperson of the AEDC, Ahmed Shekarau, were unsuccessful.
He did not pick or return calls. He also did not respond to a text message at the time of publishing this story.