Follow Us on Google
By Tony Udemba
Ex- workers of Transport and Ports Management Systems Ltd, TPMS, erstwhile operators of the Cargo Tracking Note, have cried out to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the leadership of the Nigerian Senate, to order the Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, to pay them their salaries, withheld since 9 years ago.
The affected workers further called on President Tinubu, as a leader with listening ears, to quicken his steps to save them from starvation and multiple hardships, due to the long period their salaries have been withheld. They wondered if NSC is above the law, such that would make the agency to flout and disobey the resolutions of the Senate to pay them from the revenue generated by the workers.
Speaking on their behalf during a press conference organised by the Association for the Protection and Defense of Human Rights, APDHR, in Lagos recently, its president, Barr. Eric Igweokolo, made a passionate plea to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, to order the NSC to pay off the 9 years old salaries to the former staff of TPMS, noting that ” the story of these workers is a very pathetic one, and therefore very compassionate. I plead for the quick attention and intervention of President Bola Tinubu, to order the NSC to pay them their salaries, held since 9 years ago. In 2015, the Federal Government of Nigeria, had through the Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, entered into a joint partnership agreement with Transport and Port Management Systems Ltd, TPMS, and introduced Cargo Tracking Note. Under the agreement, Nigerian Shippers Council would be entitled to 60 % of all the revenues generated, whereas TPMS would receive 40% to offset its administrative and operational costs, including salaries for workers, Cargo Tracking Note numbering data, technical partnership, etc. Essentially the Nigeria International Cargo Tracking Note was aimed at monitoring the movement of inbound and outbound Cargoes in Nigeria, particularly obtaining essential information, data, statistics and related reports, on movement of Cargoes for various strategic purposes. Strategically, in order to achieve these lofty goals and projections, these law abiding Nigerian citizens, were employed and sufficiently trained and deployed to carry out operations duly assigned to them. And, which they did, achieving huge results to the benefit of the country “.
He stated that ” it is on record that the employees of TPMS worked so hard to generate a revenue of about three million, five hundred United States Dollar ( USD3.5m), and deposited same into the Nigerian Shippers Council, NSC, treasury single account, within the period. But, regrettably, 9 years after, NSC is still holding unto all the money generated by TPMS, refusing to pay TPMS its own percentage of the accrued revenue as specified in the agreement, to enable the company to pay its employees salaries. Thereby forcing the hapless workers into unending pains, deprivation, penury and diverse colours of hardships”.
Igweokolo recalled that for the years the matter had lingered, he had on behalf of the workers, written petitions to various relevant government institutions, seeking for solutions to the plight of the workers. In his words, ” our petition to the Senate was assigned to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, which scheduled a public hearing over the matter, and the Nigerian Shippers Council was represented by the then Executive Director, Mr. Hassan Bello, who told the committee that the money generated by TPMS was intact in the TSA account of NSC, and that the problem NSC had in releasing the money due to Transport and Ports Management Systems Ltd, for the payment of their workers salaries, was due to their inability to access the single treasury account “. Continuing, the human rights lawyer said, ” it is pertinent to note that, the Senate at its plenary adopted the report presented to it by the ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions Committee, and urged the Nigerian Shippers Council to find a way through the Accountant General of the Federation to access the Treasury Single Accounts, TSA, of its agencies, and honour the payment of outstanding 40% of total revenue generated by TPMS, to enable the company pay all outstanding salaries to its workforce since December 2016 till the expiration of the contract”.
Speaking further, he stated that following the resolution of the Senate, on the 2nd of August 2021, Ojo Olatunda Amis, Clerk to the National Assembly, through a letter referenced NO.NASS/CAN/34VOL.1/159, wrote to the Secretary to the Federal Government, SFG, conveying the Senate’s resolution on the matter to him. He recalled that on the 3rd of November 2021, the office of the SFG forwarded the Senate’s Resolution on the matter to the Hon.
Minister of Transportation and the Accountant General of the Federation. He noted; ” we are aware
from our visit to the office of the Accountant General of the Federation , that his office has since completed investigation in respect of this matter and forwarded a report to the office of the SFG on the 6th of May 2022, stating clearly that the NSC had access at all material times to its treasury single account, and are in the position to resolve the matter “.
Speaking further, Igweokolo said, ” regrettably since that time up till now, no further action has been taken by the Nigerian Shippers Council, to comply with the resolution of the Senate to pay the salaries of the TPMS workers, even when it was established beyond any iota of doubt, that NSC at all material times, has access to the its TSA, and that its then Executive Director, Hassan Bello, lied to the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions, by saying that they had no access to the treasury single account. ”
” the big question which Nigerians are asking now is; where is the money generated by workers from the Cargo Tracking contract, which was paid into Nigerian Shippers Council TSA? Nigerians want to know whether or not, the money has been embezzled, diverted, without respecting and obeying the resolution of the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria”, Igweokolo queried.
Painting a grim picture of the situation, Mr Ikenna Nnamani, a former staff of TPMS, called on President Tinubu to come to their aid, saying ” for over 9 years now, we have suffered a lot. Two of our colleagues have lost their children because they can’t afford medical treatment for them, two others have forfeited their belongings to their landlords because they can’t pay house rents, also there are some with debilitating health issues and others with various forms of challenges, due to lack of money. Many of us cannot even pay school fees for our children, while a few have been abandoned by their spouses, as they have no funds to maintain their families”.
Similarly, Mr Sunday Egwurube, also a former staff of the company, joined his other colleagues in pleading with the President Tinubu and Senator Godswill Akpabio, the Senate President and other well-meaning Nigerians, to compel NSC to pay them their 9 years accumulated salaries.
