NIPC management denies allegations by protesting staff

The management of the Nigerian Investment Promotion Council, NIPC, on Thursday denied allegations raised against it by the agency’s Association of Senior Civil servants of Nigeria.

The staff on Wednesday held a protest and shut the gates to the the NIPC in Abuja, accusing the executive secretary of the agency, Yewande Sadiku, of “executive felonies”.

They raised concerns about staff welfare, promotion and sackings.

The management in a response on Thursday said the issues the workers raised had been resolved.

It also said some of the issues were never brought to its notice ahead of the protest.

Staff of the council held a similar demonstration in July 2020, and accused Mrs Sadiku of several wrongdoings, allegations she denied.

“For the record, it should be noted that despite the resolution of virtually all the issues and continuous engagement with the Union and other stakeholders, the Union has issued four ultimatums to Management in the past six months, over issues that had either been resolved or had never been brought to Management’s attention,” a statement by the management said.

The statement said after the July protest, the federal government held several meetings with NIPC which resulted in the resolution of the issues, most of which have been implemented, while others are at various stages of implementation.

“In relation to the 2020 promotion exercise, the promotion examination was transparently conducted by the Public Service Institute of Nigeria (PSIN) with the full participation of relevant MDAs, including the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, the Federal Civil Service Commission and Federal Character Commission,” the statement said.

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“The promotion letters for Officers outside the management cadre were released by Management on 23 February 2021, while the promotion of staff in the Management cadre is still awaiting Council approval in line with extant rules.”

The council said it has always made staff welfare and development a priority.

It said major welfare improvements were initiated under the leadership of the current executive secretary without being prompted, including Staff Housing Loan Scheme, Post Service Benefit Scheme and Peculiar Allowance.