Industrial Court Nullifies Retirement Of NEPC Employees

A car over- loaded with firewood on Zaria road in Kaduna, last Friday

The National industrial Court Presided over by honourable Justice Peter Lifu of the Abuja Division has nullified the termination of appointment of 114 former employees by the Nigerian Export Promotion Council (NEPC).
In a ruling obtained by The Tide the Presiding judge said in his ruling  that the suit was not statute-barred and does not lack merit for the court to have jurisdiction on the matter.
The Judge said that the defendant (NEPC) terminated the appointment of the employees in 2008 during the Federal Government’s restructuring and a memo was passed in 2009 for the Management of NEPC to reinstate the retirees and pay them all their entitlements.
The Judgement citing the Public Officer Protection Act, said it was very unfortunate situation that NEPC had not obeyed the Federal Government Order to reinstate and pay all the entitlements of the retirees.
The Judgement stated that the NEPC refused to pay even the N20 million release by the Federal government as severance benefit of the retirees.
The Judgement quoted that “by the letter dated December 28, 2009, entitled “Organisation Restructuring Approved Gratuity Pension and Terminal Benefit, the court order the NEPC to reinstate all the disengaged staff forthwith.
The court order the NEPC to immediately pay all the disengaged staff their salaries and entitlements from 2005 to date of the Judgement.
However, the National Industrial Court by the Third Alternation Act 2010 of 1999   Constitution dated March 4, 2011 the court exercise jurisdiction to the exclusion of any other court in civil cases and matters relating to employee, employer and other related industrial Labour issues.

Philip Okparaji