The Senate has fixed February 28, 2017 to look into the complaints filed by the 2007 set of technical trainees at the Nigerian Ports Authority.
The trainees, numbering 536 from the 36 states of the federation, accused the NPA of unlawfully disengaging them after they had undergone four years of training at the NPA’s technical training centre, based on the promise that they would be employed upon graduation.
The trainees claimed to have enlisted for the programme following a 2002 advertisement by the NPA calling on applicants from the 36 states to enrol for technical training.
According to them, the initiative was to bridge the technical manpower gap at the NPA.
They, however, alleged that after undergoing the four-year training and acquiring various specialised skills, rather than absorb and deploy them to various departments, the NPA disengaged them.
One of the leaders of the coalition of the trainees, Nnamdi Azubuike, told our correspondent last week that the case, which had been before the National Assembly for about 10 years, came up again for hearing on February 7, 2017.
According to him, the hearing was, however, stalled and rescheduled for February 28, 2017 due to the failure of the NPA management to show up.
Meanwhile, 13 of the trainees had sued and obtained a judgment against the NPA in May 2013, wherein Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court then in Lagos gave judgment in their favour.
The judge had declared that “the continued refusal of the NPA to deploy the trainees, having successfully completed the four years training in the NPA technical training centre since 2007, was unlawful, wrongful, illegal and of no effect, being a violation of both the contract of employment and terms and conditions of service of the NPA.”
Justice Abang ordered the NPA to “immediately deploy the trainees to its various departments, restore and recognise them as its permanent staff.”
The judge also faulted the decision of the NPA to stop the allowances of the trainees since 2007 and, therefore, ordered the agency to pay the trainees their “salaries, leave bonuses and Christmas bonuses from March 2007 till November 2010 when the suit was filed and thereafter from December 2010 till judgment day.”
He scolded the NPA, describing the action of its management as “man inhumanity to men on this earthly world.”
The judge held, “The conduct of the defendant (NPA) is aggravated in nature, reckless, vindictive, high-handed and utterly oppressive. It depicts a gross abuse of power on the part of the NPA, a public officer. It is reprehensive to the extreme and shows gross disregard for the rule of law.
“The action of the NPA borders on unwarranted use of governmental power as it is malicious and cruel. It is a contumelious disregard of every principle that actuates the conduct of civilised men. It deserves some measure of exemplary or aggravated damages.”
Azubuike told our correspondent last week that the NPA refused to obey the judgment for three years and after much pressure it then proceeded to the Court of Appeal in September 2016 to challenge the judgment.
According to Azubuike, the Senate had also instructed the NPA to absorb and deploy the trainees as promised, but the NPA failed to heed the call and decided instead to pursue the appeal against Justice Abang’s verdict.
While the trainees’ petition comes up for hearing at the National Assembly on February 28, 2017, the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal adjourned till May 3, 2017 for the second hearing in the case.
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