The crisis rocking the leadership of the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC) took a new twist on Friday when the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Union announced the impeachment of its president-general, Dr Chris Okonkwo.

At a press conference held in Kano, on Friday, SSAEAC National Public Relations Officer, Abubakar Umar Abubakar disclosed that the Council had agreed on the impeachment of Dr Okonkwo over frequent breaches of the constitution, as well as to save the Union from total collapse.

Abubakar said: “Okonkwo has been running the affairs of SSAEAC as a private estate and all efforts to reconcile him with members failed. He had turned deaf ears to issues affecting the progress of the Union, hence the need to take urgent action to save the Union.”

“He [Okonkwo], in a flagrant violation of the SSAEAC Constitution, had unilaterally changed the venue of the Union’s 2022 National Delegate Conference [NDC] from Kano to Abuja.

At the last NDC, the delegates approved Kano as the venue for the next SSAEAC 2022 National Delegates Conference. Surprisingly, Okonkwo single-handedly changed the venue from Kano to Abuja without recourse to the NEC as the Association’s constitution stipulates.

We [Council members] believed that many of Okonkwo’s offenses are issues that could be resolved amicably without washing our linen in the public, but Okonkwo had rebuffed all entreaties made towards achieving a peaceful resolution of the issues.
Moreover, the leadership of the union could not continue to watch Okonkwo turning himself into a dictator without taking a step that would safeguard the union from collapse.”

“After due consultations with the Union members, Dr Chris Okonkwo is hereby impeached as SSAEAC President-General effective from today, 12th August 2021,” Mohammed declared.

The Council, however, appointed Engr Musa Gambo Muhammed as the new acting president-general of the Union.

Okonkwo calls for reconciliation meeting

However, in a dramatic move aimed at creating confusion after his impeachment, Dr Okonkwo, had, in a Memo dated 14th August 2021, entitled: ‘Re: Continuation of Reconciliation Process’ with Reference No: SSAEAC/NHQ/SEC08/129/2021 and signed by the Acting General Secretary, Nnamdi Ajibo, which was obtained by our Correspondent, invited seven (7) suspended principal officers of the union including Comrades Daira Ibidemi, Bukar Hassan, Andrew Odihi, Uyod Initorufa, Gabriel Amiji, E. O. Akoma and Bala Sahalu to a new reconciliation meeting.

It will be recalled that Okonkwo had earlier scheduled a suspicious reconciliation meeting slated for 28th May 2021, in which the suspended members were invited but none of them turned up at the meeting.

According to the memo, the new meeting is to be held on 18th August in Abuja.

However, the affected members have vowed that they would not honour the invitation

My impeachment, a joke taken too far — Okonkwo

Responding, Okonkwo in a statement signed by the Association Secretary described the alleged impeachment as a joke taken too far.

According to the statement, “the self-acclaimed Council members who signed the impeachment notice are former suspended members of the Council but now expelled.”

The reasons for the alleged impeachment were termed “atrocities” and the Association’s Constitution & Code of Practice from where they might have drawn their powers were not referenced.”

From the foregoing, it is very clear that the so-called impeachment from the Group was a gross, misguided adventure. As aforementioned – How can 16 members impeach the Head of a 38 member-Council. Is it by a simple majority? And from what perspective are they drawing the privileges?

Above and beyond, the Group’s matter was extensively deliberated during the emergency NEC meeting on – 16th August 2021 and the Council’s unanimous decision was to expel them from the Association.

So the purported impeachment of Dr Okonkwo and termination of the appointment of the GS were as a result, null, void, and of no recognition.

We may sue TCN management for allowing Okonkwo to hold SSAEAC PG position — NEC

The National Executive Council of SSAEAC has accused the management of Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) of violating the organisation condition of service: Section 14.1, (Paragraph 3 and 4), which stipulates that: It is the wish of the management to recognize the right of employees to associate with any legitimate Union in order to assure the employee’s certain benefits of collective effort.

However, employees from the rank of Assistant General Manager and above, being a projection if management shall not hold elective office in any of the Unions. This is in order to avoid conflict of interest and ensure confidentiality of official.”

A member of the Council, who prefers anonymity said: “It is worrying that Dr. Okonkwo is a General Manager at the TCN, and we wonder why the management of TCN allowed him [Okonkwo] to hold an elective position as against the company’s policy on Industrial Relations.

“We will challenge the TCN management in court over this gross violation of the condition of service,” the official concluded.

Vanguard News Nigeria