By Favour Nnabugwu

The change process sweeping through the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC) may not have gone down well with some directors of the Commission whom were alleged to have instigated the recent protest against the Executive Management of the agency. NIPC’s Executive Secretary, Mrs. Saratu Umar told Journalists at a press briefing in Abuja Wednesday, that some key directors of the Commission that are not in tune with her change process, are fomenting trouble in the office so they can cover up their activities in the company.

She said that some directors were indicted by the Commission’s audit of its account books and want to frustrate her effort at all cost in order to prevent being exposed and prosecuted.

She told the Media that the findings of the audit findings revealed that several million of naira were misused by the directors who spurred the staff to kick against her.

She however denied spending or contracting her office furniture which the protesters alleged gulped over N30 million, adding that her office is still as it was when she assumed office

According to her “My office is still the way I met it when I assumed duty; I have not changed anything. Anybody can walk in and see for himself. I felt there were pressing issues that needed attention, so I did not spend any N35 million furnishing my office. That you can confirm. Repositioning the agency for optimal service delivery is my top priority but those who are used to the old ways of doing things are the ones misinforming the staff.”

She also denied issuing queries to staff, stating that it is not her responsibility to do that whilst the Director of Administration is there to see to that.

She explained that some of the staff members allegedly queried by the director in charge of Human Resources, Mr Mutawali Kukawa, were actually those found to be perpetual late comers, pointing out that no management would condone any act of indiscipline by its workers.

Though, she admitted errors in the queries issued as some staff that had proceeded on leave were also not spared.

“The Director, Human Resources, told me that it was just a memo he issued seeking explanation on why the affected staff should come to work late or even absent themselves from work for days. But I pointed out to him that those on leave were also included, which should not be so because they have genuine reasons for being away, so it is unfair to punish them and I asked him to go and correct that”

“On the issue of query, I said they needed to make it more explicit, that it was not a query but memo, because we are trying to avoid them thinking it was a query because somebody will ask, if it was a query why am I withdrawing it? But today, we were expecting to conclude the matter, only to come and find the gate locked, and that tells me that the indicted directors are bent on causing problems because the issues raised have been exhaustively addressed.”

Umar further explained that the Director was working to redress that when the protest started. “I can understand the agitation of the staff, because the message was wrongly conveyed; there was a communication gap which the indicted directors exploited”.

Umar further debunked the allegation that she issued over 150 queries to staff, and that about 600 files were lying on her table unattended to since November 2014 not until she got hint of the protest before she shed off some of the files on her table.

The NIPC boss also denied that the chairman of the board of the commission quit his position out of frustration as was alleged by the protesting staff.

According to her, “He resigned to contest a governorship position in his home state, Kwara, adding that the two directors allegedly laid off had completed their first four years out of eight and had applied for a renewal of another four years.

On why the protest lingered for the second day running despite her meeting with the union, she said: “We went through a wide range of issues that were raised by the union and we agreed that a communiqué would be issued. Like I said earlier, a lot of light was shed on the issues they brought and they understood and agreed that there was a communication gap which was deliberate.

“When the final communiqué was brought for me to sign, I looked at it and said that I think the communiqué should be made more explicit so that there won’t be any room for speculation. For instance, on the issue of overtime allowance, it was agreed that eligible staff can now apply and I said that if you put it that way, it will give the impression that they applied and were refused; so I said they should write that on the issue of overtime, no application was previously received and that going forward, any eligible staff can apply. This I said is fair and objective, but they were not comfortable with that.

The workers have remained adamant as they continue to occupy the entrance of the commission, saying the industrial action will be indefinite until their demands are met.

However, Umar insisted that the change process which she introduced to the Commission will continue as she reaffirmed the commitment of the Commission to make Nigeria a preferred destination for investors.