Industrial Court Orders NNPC To Pay Ex-Staff N29m Pension Claim Within 30 Days

The Presiding Judge, Calabar Judicial Division of the National Industrial Court, Hon. Justice Sanusi Kado has ordered the NNPC Pension Fund Limited and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to pay its former staff Ms. Bassey the sum of N29,758,660.20 as cumulative pension from the year 2013 to 2021 within 30 days.

The Court declared that the refusal of the NNPC Pension Fund Limited and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to pay Ms Bassey’s outstanding pension after payment of a cumulative five-year pension was illegal, unlawful and unconstitutional.

Justice Kado declared that the refusal or neglect by the NNPC Pension Fund Limited and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to pay Ms Bassey her monthly pension from 2013 to 2021, was unacceptable and described it as wickedness to humanity.

From facts, the claimant- Ms. Bassey had submitted that she joined the services of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited on 25/6/1991 on transfer from the services of Cross River State Civil Service and retired from the service in 2008, and the payment of her pension has not been forthcoming.

In defence, the defendants averred that the amount paid to Ms Bassey in the past were erroneously computed by the NNPC Pension Fund Limited as Ms Bassey worked for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited for Six (6) years and Two (2) months only, that is, from 25/6/1991 to 19/8/1997.

The NNPC Pension Fund Limited and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited also averred that by the Transfer of Service Policy of the Defendants, former employers pay terminal benefit proportional to the period the employee worked in the former employment, and Ms Bassey was duly notified of the existence of this policy.

They contended that the case is an abuse of court process and that the subject matter of the action has already been determined by the Court of Appeal, that Ms Bassey is stopped from relitigating the issue that had been resolved by the Court of Appeal.

Counsel submitted that the pendency of the motion on notice filed by Ms Bassey at the Supreme Court in 2016 also makes the present suit an abuse of the court process.

On the issue of pending appeal, Ms Bassey insisted she is not aware of any appeal as parties were engrossed in settlement talk at the instance of the NNPC Pension Fund Limited and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited after the judgment of the lower court, and the outcome of the talk led initial payment of the sum of N12,989,891.27 on 6/6/2015 by the NNPC.

Delivering judgment after careful analysis of the submission of both parties, the Presiding Judge, Justice Sanusi Kado dismissed the objection for being lacking in merit and held that there is no evidence to support the claim of existence of appeal or application for leave to appeal pending at Supreme Court to render the suit to constitute an abuse of court processes.

The Court further reasoned that the issues involved in the suit at hand and the one settled by the Court of Appeal are not the same which stipulates that the doctrine of estoppel cannot operate to deny or bar Ms Bassey from ventilating her grievances before this court as far her reliefs are concerned.

Justice Kado maintained that based on the evidence before the court, Ms Bassey did not retire from the employment of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and she cannot be allowed to rely on judgment that has been set aside to claim retirement from the service of the defendant in 2008.

The Court held that the effect of exhibit CTC of judgment of the Court of Appeal means that Ms Bassey though did not retire from service, but had her employment terminated and is entitled to payment of her monthly pension.

Justice Kado stated that the NNPC Pension Fund Limited and Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited are duty bound to take years of service of Ms Bassey from the date she entered civil service on 6/3/1978 which implies that the transfer of Ms Bassey’s service to the defendants means the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited would inherit all liabilities of Ms Bassey’s former employer as by her transfer of service everything regarding her record of service has been transferred to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited.