TCN workers shut offices to protest MD’s removal

Members of the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) at the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) on Wednesday shut down offices at the company’s headquarters in Abuja, protesting what they called the unjustifiable removal from office of Abubakar Atiku, the company’s managing director/CEO.

This was in reaction to a letter transmitted to Atiku and dated January 31, urging him to leave office for Usman Gur Mohammed to take over.

The letter, seen by BusinessDay, is titled “Request for the secondment of Mr. Usman Gur Mohammed from African Development Bank as the Transitional Chief Executive Officer of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).”

The letter with reference number FMP/OPS/50/I signed by Lois Edozien, who is the permanent secretary in the ministry, and addressed to Babatunde Fashola, the minister of power, works and housing, referred to an earlier one written by the minister requesting for the service of Gur Mohammed from the African Development Bank.

It stated, “I refer to your letter Ref. No: F11373/S.34/C914/T/ 208 dated 19th January 2017, conveying the approval of the African Development Bank (ADB) in respect of a request authorised by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the secondment of Mr. Usman Gur Mohammed as an interim Chief Executive Officer of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) for a period of 12 months.

“Accordingly, he is by copy of this letter requested to resume for duty on Wednesday, February 1, 2017, which is the date his appointment will take effect.”

A copy of the same letter, BusinessDay learnt, was presented to Abubakar Atiku, together with verbal instructions from the permanent secretary urging him to respect the contents of the letter.

However, Wisdom Nwachukwu, who is FCT chairman of NUEE, said the power sector was highly technical and to bring an accountant to take over the leadership of TCN from a well-trained engineer amounted to sabotage.

Nwachukwu alleged that the reason for the attempted removal of Atiku was not in good fate but to bring in a crony of the minister for the purpose of controlling and using money at will from a $364 million loan being expected from the World Bank.

According to Nwachukwu, “we are not against government taking decisions but the impunity with which this is being done, as the staff of TCN by constitution are supposed to be 75 percent technical and only 25 percent non-technical.”

He also stressed that, constitutionally, the MD/CEO of TCN should have been informed or given a notice of at least three months ahead, noting, “people are trying to short-change the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”

Findings reveal that the TCN staff union has sent a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari and to the minister of power, works and housing, expressing their dissatisfaction with the attempted removal of Atiku from office.

It has also been learnt that President Buhari has asked Fashola to stay execution on the matter until he is back from his trip to the UK.