The Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the Director-General of the Nigerian Copyrights Commission, Mr. Afam Ezekude, with immediate effect to save the organisation from collapse.
The association, which was reacting to the alleged enslavement of workers by the DG, expressed shock that in the present 21st Century, Nigerians could be turned into slaves in their own country.
A statement issued on Wednesday by the Secretary-General of ASCSN, Alade Lawal, emphasised that plans had been concluded by the union to picket the commission’s offices throughout the country.
“If the management of NCC fails to enter into meaningful dialogue with the ASCSN in the next few days to resolve the lingering labour issues, no other notice will be issued before the nation-wide picketing starts,” he stated.
Lawal said, “You will be amazed to know that the Director-General, after intimidating workers in the office, directs his stooges to carry the war to their homes, forcing them to accept and collect query letters in their residences at the unholy hours of the night. As we write, workers of the NCC are denied their salaries and other legitimate allowances by the DG, who runs the commission as his personal estate.
According to him, Ezekude also allegedly barred workers from belonging to trade unions, as guaranteed by Section 40 of the 1999 Constitution; the extant labour laws of the country as well as the International Labour Organisation Conventions 87 and 98 on the rights to organise and collective bargaining.
The ASCSN added that all efforts by its leaders to bring the management of the NCC to the negotiating table in line with international labour best practices had been frustrated by Ezekude.
“Even when the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity apprehended the matter following a trade dispute declared by this union, Ezekude bluntly refused to attend any meeting summoned by the ministry to resolve the impasse, boasting that he can only report to the President.
“It is necessary for Mr. President to relieve the Director-General of his appointment, otherwise this culture of impunity inherited from previous administrations which Mr. Ezekude is exhibiting will impugn on the anti-corruption project of the current government.
According to the ASCSN, apart from sending workers on punitive postings without paying them their first 28 days allowance in lieu of hotel accommodation and other benefits, the DG refused to invest in capacity building but preferred to divert such funds for private purposes.
The union stressed the need for the Presidency to remove Ezekude from office before the entire organisation would be engulfed in crisis “because the patience of the workers and that of the union had been overstretched on the matter.”
(Punch)
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