… Why we embarked on protest – Staff
From Femi Mustapha, in Kaduna
The Director General of Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria (DICON), Major General Aniedi Edet, has reacted to the recent protest by some of the Corporation’s staff, describing their action as mischievous, baseless and an act of sabotage against the Federal Government’s development programs.
The DG however warned that the affected staff risked prison terms going by the provisions of the Act of Employees Conditions of Service, which forbids protest, trade unionism, and strikes by the staff of the Corporation.
Some civilian staff of the Corporation had protested non-enrolment in the Federal Government’s Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), and non-payment of their allowances and salary arrears in the last few years.
However, the staff during a protest in front of the DICON factory located in the Kakuri area, Kaduna South Local Government were seen with a banner conveying their messages to the management including, ‘Enrollment into IPPIS’, ‘Payment of our 6 months’, ‘Payment of 2019 minimum wage arrears’, ‘Stop lopsided payment of allowance’ and ‘Payment of 2022 and 2023 promotion arrears.
While explaining to newsmen about the financial entitlements of Staff, the DICON boss said normal official processes were being followed to serve the beneficiaries, but require patience, adding that salaries were always promptly paid.
The DG however, reminded the protesting staff of the provisions of the staff conditions of service and its consequences if violated, saying, “Section 3: ( Sub-section 11), and by the provisions of section 11 of the Defence Industries Corporation of Nigeria ( DICON) Act 1962, it is an offense punishable by imprisonment on conviction of any person employed by the Corporation in any capacity to take part in a strike or trade union activities.
He said the management shall establish proper channels of communication with employees to address issues affecting their joint or individual interest”.
Major General Edet who explained the workings of the Corporation, lamented that the protesting workers kept on telling lies that it is only DICON that is on Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) and as such they should be migrated to Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System ( IPPIS).
According to the DG, “The lies they tell is that it is only DICON that is on GIFMIS. It is not true. It is a government platform. Am I the one who brought GIFMIS? If the government platform is not good, then you are telling Abuja they don’t know what they are doing. I should go and tell Abuja to change it from Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) to Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) . They will stop your salary for six months. It will take some time to successfully move from GIFMIS to IPPIS. They will be on my neck if they don’t get a salary for six months. And What about other agencies that are also there on the platform? We are taking this up with the Ministry of Defence and the ministry has noted. The whole staff of DICON have received their April salary.
“And the protesting staff dropped their banner and went to the bank to collect their salaries and came back and picked the banner. They ran to the press to report the protest. Did they tell the pressmen about the salary? So they misinformed the pressmen that it is only DICON that is on GIFMIS. Every defense agency is on GIFMIS, they collect their salary and pay.
“The protesting staff also talked about palliative. Yes, the federal government is still processing it. I asked and I was given the lists of agencies that have not been paid palliative yet. None of them is going on protest because it is embarrassing the federal government. The federal government promised to give this money. They have not given you and you are now protesting that they have not given you. You don’t need to embarrass the government because they are doing everything possible to give out palliative.
“They also talked about minimum wage. Again this is not money paid to DICON and I keep it. Many organizations have not been paid this minimum wage and 2019 allowance. All we can do as Ministry, Department, and Agency (MDAs) is to write government to pursue it. It has even gotten to a level that when my staff says the Director is in Abuja to pursue the payment, they will say you are lying. How can a staff look at you and say that you are telling lies, that are unheard of? As a General with the number of years I have put in service, with all sincerity of purpose, and with the mandate from Mr. President handed over to me by the Ministry of Defence I will stand in front of staff and tell them that this is what I am doing and they will say no Sir, it is not true. My staff will tell me he wants to go to Abuja and confirm. If you want to go to Abuja, go. They say no, I should give them a vehicle.
“So gentlemen of the press let us be careful because it is said that if something is running in the afternoon, check very well, something must be pursuing it. This is what I cannot explain. We are making efforts to find out who is pressing them to protest. Because what they are doing is baseless. But they are like no, we must continue. I have asked whether they have been surcharged and not paid a salary commensurate to their levels, either 13, 14, 15, or 16, and they said no. If you are on level 10 for example and you are to be paid N99,000. Were you paid below the amount? They said no. So what exactly is the problem? Which severance allowance are you talking about? And in line with our staff welfare policy, give out incentives that are not even staff entitlement.
“They talked about 2022 and 2023 promotion. If you ask me how many of them were promoted in 2022 and 2023, there are not more than two of them. You are not promoted in 2022 and 2023, you are fighting for promotion arrears. The federal government managed to clear 2019, 2020, and 2021 promotion arrears last year. The promotion arrears of 2022 and 2023 have not been paid, not only to DICON but to all the ministries. So they have to wait until it is applicable. Why are they carrying placards and deceiving members of the press about something clear and open?
“I want to talk about the implications of this action. It has a lot of implications based on national security. We are in the business of arms and ammunition. There is no amount of money and allowance paid to DICON for the staff that I will keep without paying them. So these disgruntled elements want to jeopardize the production we are doing at DICON. They have received salaries. So what they are doing is to attract unnecessary attention. That is what they do. None of the money they are claiming is with us. At the time Mr. President is making efforts for DICON to grow, they embark on a protest to drive away our investors because DICON staff are protesting.
“As I speak to you the staff that are supposed to work are in the factory working. So who are these staff that are trying to give us a bad name? We know that the situation in Kaduna is a little bit volatile. So who knows if this kind of bad action can be hijacked by miscreants on a national infrastructure like DICON? Can we afford it? So you better draw the attention of the authorities before it is too late. I have done what I should do as the DG DICON, I have written my report. I have reported to Abuja. What else can we do?
“What is going on there is mischief, it is baseless. We are professional and law-abiding and we have nothing to hide. There are ways to express your grievances but based on the DICON Act, staff are not allowed to protest and their action is highly illegal”. Major General Edet said.
