PHCN workers’ entitlements: Court to rule on jurisdiction July 8

PAUL DADA | The National Industrial Court, Ibadan will on July 8 rule on its jurisdiction in a case instituted by workers of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) against the Bureau of Public Enterprise (BPE).

No fewer than 384 casual workers of PHCN had sued the BPE and PHCN over the non-payment of their severance entitlements.

The counsel to the BPE, Ogala Osoka, had filed an application challenging the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.

Osoka argued that BPE was not responsible for the payment of the workers’ entitlements and should not be a party in the suit.

He further said that it was the responsibility of the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO) to pay the workers, insisting that the bureau should not be a party in the suit.

Osoka urged the court to grant his prayers and dismissed the case of the claimants in its entirety.

While responding, Mr Bolaji Adeyi, the counsel to the claimants, said that the defendant had not come up with any tangible evidence indicating that it was NELMCO that would pay the workers.

Adeyi argued that it was the BPE that was responsible for the privitisation of the defunct electricity company and therefore must bear its liabilities.

He said that BPE was a party in the suit and that it was in the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit.

Adeyi told the court that he had filed an application praying the court to allow the claimants to introduce some facts which was supposed to have been in the earlier application.

He urged the court not to dismiss the case, but grant his prayer in the interest of justice and fair hearing and allow him to tender the documents.

It would be recalled that the workers’ counsel had told the court that his clients were employed by PHCN as contract and casual staff prior to its privatisation.

He said that they had complied with the BPE’s directives to regularise and redesignate them from casual or contract status to permanent staff status from Dec. 31, 2009.

Justice Firstina Kola-Olalere, however, on Tuesday adjourned the case to July 8 for ruling on the application of the defendant and the claimants.