*… seek revocation of sale of Nigerdock, Peugeot Automobile, ANAMCO, 4 others

By Victor AhiumaYoung

Steel and Engineering Workers Union, SEWUN, Auto/Precision sectors, has raised the alarm over the state of some privatised companies in the sector, lamenting that none of the companies is functioning.
SEWUN at its annual Industrial Relations Conference in Abeokuta, Ogun State, called for the revocation of the sale of Nigerdock in Snake Island, Apapa, Lagos, Peugeot Automobile in Kaduna, and ANAMCO in Enugu.

Others firms the union wants their privatisation revoked are the Volkswagen of Nigeria, VON, Lagos, NationalTruck in Bauchi, Styers in Bauchi and Layland in Ibadan.

Addressing guests and members of the Union, SEWUN President, Elijah Adigun, claimed the new owners of the companies had resorted to assets stripping with the connivance of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, instead of making the firms to function.

Among others, he said “The very essence of privatization was to sell these companies to core
investors to run these companies with competency, efficiency, higher productivity and generation of employment. But what we see is a situation where the BPE sold these companies for their personal aggrandisement. As we speak, the BPE has stopped receiving our calls while the management continues to dismantle and sell off all the assets of the companies. The only reason given for stripping the assets is that it belongs to them and they have the right to do so.

“We appeal to President Bola Tinubu to have a second look at the Privatization exercise which was poorly and corruptly executed by the BPE, particularly in the Automobile Industry.

“The case of the Automobile Industry is pathetic as no single one of them is doing well. This is because none of the buyers has the financial muzzle, the technical and managerial skills, the expertise to run a manufacturing or Assembly Plant.

“These companies include Nigerdock FZE in Snake Island, Apapa/Lagos, Peugeot Automobile in Kaduna, ANAMCO in Enugu, VON Lagos, National Truck in Bauchi, Styers in Bauchi and Layland in Ibadan.
We sincerely implore the Federal Government to urgently revoke the sale of these companies with a view to selling them to new investors who have the knowledge to run Auto Assembly/Manufacturing Company to boost efficiency and generate employment which was the original Government vision.”

Plantgeria, Cobranet

Adigun noted also that the union has pending issue with Plantgeria, saying “This company retrenched some workers including both present and past branch officers of the union without reference to the union as specified in Section 20, of the Trade Unions (Amendment) Act. This affront to the union made us to declare a Trade Dispute at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment in Port Harcourt.

“A new dimension developed when the company brought in the military and the Nigeria Police and later referred the case to the National Industrial Court. The case is on-going right now, as we have engaged the services of a lawyer.

“Similarly, our union has declared a Trade Dispute against Cobranet for the injustice done to one of its employees who had an accident while at work and lost one of his eyes. But rather than have him treated, he was abandoned. This case is also ongoing. We have only reported these three companies because they are the major cases we have had in recent times.”