By Lawrence Olaoye
The House of Representatives once again demonstrated its resolve to be the parliament of the people by intervening in the industrial face-off between the defunct Afribank, now Mainstreet Bank and the 41 sacked members of staff.
The 41members of staff had raised the alarm over the recklessness of the management of Afribank which finally culminated into its liquidation. They were punished for having the audacity to caution the management when it was obvious that the bank was heading toward the rocks. The affected staff alerted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) on the prevailing sharp practices in the bank which made the apex bank to beam its searchlight into the activities of the defunct bank.
Although the sacked workers headed to the court pleading for reinstatement, reasons later prevailed and they chose to approach the House through its committee on public petition which investigated the matter and recommended the reinstatement of the workers. That was in 2002.
But the 7th Assembly was piqued by the refusal of the bank which has now transmuted into Mainstreet Bank to respect the resolution of the House. The House Committee on Legislative Compliance chaired by Rep Moroof Akinderu-Fatai therefore summoned the management of the Mainstreet Bank over the matter.
After a prolonged explanation, the committee directed that the sacked workers be reinstated and their emoluments be paid forthwith. The Committee had argued that since the Afribank was reflated by the government with tax payers’ money; and the management put together by the government, it is incumbent on them to accede to the directives of the parliament.
The Reps intervention equally threw up a moral issue that should be of interest to not only the lawmakers buta to the generality of Nigerians. The Committee raised the issues of reversal of fortune as those who are supposed to be celebrated for blowing the whistle against the bourgeoning corruption in the defunct Afribank were later made the scapegoats.
The refusal of the new Mainstreet Bank to reinstate the sacked workers only pointed to the fact that the nation does not have a way of rewarding patriotism and honesty, both in public and private sectors.
Although the bank’s management, represented by its Abuja Regional Manager, Dauda Momodu, argued that it was not under any obligation to obey the directives of the House because the bank was a new entity different totally from the liquidated bank.
He told the committee that none of the management staff of the new Mainstreet Bank was a shareholder as they were merely engaged to reposition the bank and return it back to the position of profitability. Momodu insisted that Mainstreet is not a continuation of Afribank as the former is now operating with a new licence while that of the later has since been liquidated. He added that the management of the bank has specific terms of engagement which exclude reinstatement of staff and payment of the gratuities of the staff of the liquidated Afribank.
The House equally intervened in the outrageous fares being charged by International Airliners and urged the management of the Federal Aviation Authority of Nigeria [FAAN] and other relevant agencies to ensure the reduction of the fares charged by International Airlines operating in the country. The lawmakers described the fares as arbitrary even as they further urged the FAAN to compel the International Airline operators to improve on their services and ensure adherence to the Nigerian local Content Law. Consequently, the House at its plenary session mandated its Committee on Aviation to ensure compliance with the resolution and report back to the Chamber within four weeks.
The House noted that fare charges for flying from Nigeria to Europe, America and other parts of the world are the highest when compared with other countries where these airliners operate. The House equally observed that Nigeria’s fuel is the cheapest in the market as against what is obtainable in countries like China, United States of America [USA], India and Ghana, even as it noted that each airline carries a minimum of 300 passengers daily into and outside the country making Nigeria one of the most lucrative routes in the world.
Subscribe to this comment's feed
