When the NIGERIA PORTS AUTHORITY advertised for employment/recruitment of technical training program in 2002 young men from all over the federation applied and about 720 candidates with o’ level certificates and above were selected and commenced a four years laborious training that will mould them into professionals that will take charge of the NIGERIAN PORTS AUTHORITY operational installations in all their concerns in Nigeria. During the period of the training they paid salary allowance and allotted staff numbers to carry on as employee of the organization.
536 trainees came out successful after the four years training program and were waiting for their deployment as grade level six/eight officers as stated in the EMPLOYMENT/ADMISSION letter. Suddenly salaries were stopped without explanations. All effort to get the management of NPA to explain the action came to none.
As years passed by, attention of the PRESIDENCY, NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, BPE, PUBLIC COMPLAIN COMMISSION, MINISTRY OF TRANSPORT, LABOUR AND PRODUCTIVITY, MARITIME LABOUR UNION were drawn to get the NPA management to do the appropriate by deploring the trained officers but all directives were ignored. A case was instituted against the management NPA in Federal High court by the trainee via suit # FHC/L/CS/1412/10 before Honorable Justice O.E ABANG then the presiding judge and a judgment was interpreted against the management of NPA to deploy the trainees and pay all outstanding salaries and allowances from March 2007 since there was no letter of termination from service.
The management declined to act on the court order and continue to allow over 500 men and women to suffer with their immediate families, over ten of these trainees have died in pursuance of their rights to practice their profession with a certificate that is only recognized by the NPA. During one of their regular meetings yesterday at the NPA hostel Ibafon they recalled how some of their colleagues have been imprisoned in Kirikiri prison yards for fighting for their right. The salaries of these trainees are still be recorded in federal service as monies paid. According to Comrade Francis Tsado the leader of the group they are calling on the good government led by MOHAMMUDU BUHARI to come their aid immediately by calling on the management of NPA to reinstate them “Suffering for nine years without work is not easy.
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