By: Goodluck E. Adubazi, Abuja.
A group of former staff of the Nigerian Communications Commission/Emergency Communications Centre (NCC/ECC) in Lokoja, Kogi State, has written to the Nigerian Communications Commission, Operating Emergency Communications Centre, in a formally protested letter for their unlawful dismissal from service.
This protest adds to the growing concerns over the labor disputes in Nigeria, highlighting the need for fair treatment of workers and adherence to labor laws.
In a statement signed by Apeh Ojochenemi, Tekaron Osibodi-Nuffi, Adejoh Attah, and Joseph Obaro, the former staff alleged that they were sacked without notice or fault on January 30, 2025.
According to the statement, the former staff was engaged by Solantech, the contractor in charge of the ECC centers in Lokoja, Lafia, Katsina, Sokoto, and Taraba, on March 1, 2020.
They claimed that they had been carrying out their duties diligently until they were informed that Solantech was no longer in charge.
The former staff alleged that the dissolved center manager, Bolude Michael, embarked on a personal vendetta mission, leading to their unlawful dismissal. They claimed that the new contractor, Alterex, took over the center without familiarizing himself with the staff or following the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) guidelines.
The former staff are demanding:
1. Immediate reinstatement to their jobs without delay.
2. Payment of their outstanding salaries covering November, December, January, and March 2020.
3. Clarification on the change of management
4 Immediate sack of former Solantech management teams.
The protest letter has been addressed to the NCC/ECC management, Maitama District Abuja, with a call for urgent attention to their grievances.
However, a development Journalist, and news correspondent, Goodluck Emmanuel Adubazi, has over the years drawn the attention of the Nigeria Communications Commission, the operator of its Subsidiary, National Emergency Communications Centres, across the 29 states where 112 centers are active and operational, the maltreating method of operations of the center managers, worthy of mention are: Lafia 112 centers, and Lokoja 112 Centre, respectively, and demands an immediate investigation into their management teams.
This development journalist believes it will unravel the underhand, ill-treated, inhuman treatment of dedicated call takers subjected to the hands of so-called morally unprincipled and uncultured and mostly unguided call center management teams in Lafia and Lokoja centers, respectively.
Accordingly, the group therefore, called on Dr. Aminu Maida, the EVC /CEO, of NCC, to use his good office to wade into the ugly trends in the management of all the Emergency Communications Centres across the states of the country, to address the lingering 112 Lafia and Lokoja centres leadership conundrum, lady with tribal ethnic bigotry, with a particular investigation to ECC – 112 in Lafia and Lokoja centres respectively, and ensure the 112 worker’s lives of the life savers are saved.
