Aba(Abia)—An Aba-based detergent firm, International Equitable Association (Industrial and  Commercial) Ltd, has complied with a Senate resolution  to reinstate  365 workers it wrongfully dismissed in 2001.

The company’s new Managing Director, Chief John Onwukwe, told newsmen in Aba, yesterday, that the workers were reinstated in March when the firm reopened for business.

He said the company also employed 60 new workers, including graduates.

Onwukwe reiterated the new management’s resolve to always abide by the laws of the land.

He said the company would employ more youths as a means of curbing youth restiveness in the area.
Onwukwe assured the company’s shareholders, who had not been paid dividend in the last nine years, of better days ahead and urged them to exercise patience.

The company, which won the Nigeria Standards Organisation award in 2006, was for more than nine years engulfed in crises.

This led to the sealing off of  the firm on the orders of  Inspector General of  Police Ogbonna Onovo.

The firm was, however, re_opened early this year following an  Aba High Court order which directed the police to vacate its premises.

The senate  also waded in as part of  the  peace efforts and passed a resolution which stated that all dismissed staff  should be reinstated.

The former management team of  the company, however, refused to act on the resolution.