Ex-workers Accuse NAHCO, PTAD of Fraud in N1.12Bn Terminal Benefits

Matilda Omonaiye/

Ex-workers of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc (NACHO) have engaged the services of a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Mr Joe Nwokedi, to sue the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate and their former employer for allegedly colluding to deny them their N1.12bn terminal benefits.

The former air transport workers under the aegis of the Ex-NAHCO Workers Forum, said they were taking a legal action against the two organisations to press home its demand for the full payment of the terminal benefits.

A statement issued by the ex-workers alleged that the management of NAHCO had connived with PTAD to manipulate the process to pay only a paltry sum from their N1.12bn severance benefits.

The General Secretary of the forum, Alademomi Sanmi, in the statement said the ex-workers were at a loss on how the number of beneficiaries dropped from 986 to 783 persons after the PTAD verification exercise.

He also dismissed as false a recent claim by NAHCO management that it had paid the disengaged workers the sum of N1.12bn in gratuities.

Sanmi said, “The N1.12bn NAHCO is claiming it has paid us is false. The information we have is that NAHCO is scheming to hijack this money from PTAD.

“When a company that belongs to the Federal Government is privatised, people who worked at that company for a certain period are entitled to something. This is what PTAD is handling now.

“Even though NAHCO is claiming it paid us some amount of money, that money is different from the terminal benefit or severance package PTAD is expected to pay us now.”

The general secretary wondered why NAHCO claimed it had paid terminal benefits on behalf of the Bureau of Public Enterprises.

He said its lawyer would seek the evidence of correspondences between the BPE and NAHCO in which the former authorised the latter to pay the severance package on behalf of the Federal Government.

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