Why Senate Ordered Immediate Reinstatement Of ‘Wrongfully’ Sacked NDPHC GM

The Senate has ordered the immediate reinstatement of the wrongfully sacked General Manager Audit and Compliance of the Niger Delta Power Holding Company, Maryam Danna Mohammed.

The resolution followed the consideration of the report of the Senate Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions on a petition by Mohammed, presented to the Senate by Senator Baba Kaka Bashir Garbai (APC-Borno).

The matter was referred to the committee after Baba Garbai drew the attention of the Senate to a petition from Mohammad against the NDPHC for wrongful termination of her appointment.

Presenting a report on Thursday, the Chairman of the committee, Senator Sam Anyanwu, noted that the complainant was wrongfully dismissed according to the committee’s findings.

The petitioner had told the committee that she started her career in the then National Electric Power Authority in 1992 as an Officer II Audit and rose through the ranks to the position of Assistant General Manager (Audit) in 2010 while in the service of the erstwhile Power Holding Company of Nigeria.

She was offered exclusive secondment from the PHCN to NDPHC in 2011 and thus transferred her service to the NDPHC and was promoted to the rank of General Manager (Audit and Compliance) same year.

She said throughout the 24 years in service, she had never been found wanting in the discharge of her duties or involved in any form of misconduct.

She said she was shocked to receive a letter dated June 10, 2016 with Ref. No. SGF.55/S.4/52, signed by Babachir Lawal, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, and purportedly approved by President Muhammadu Buhari notifying her of her disengagement from service with effect from June 10, 2016.

She said the letter also directed her to hand over to the most senior officer in her department though her position as a General Manager (Audit and Compliance) was not appointive but a position she earned by growing through the ranks and sheer hard work as a staffer of the company.

Before her wrongful disengagement, according to the petition, Lawal on June 10, 2016 announced the dissolution of the Executive Management of NDPHC with immediate effect, but there were General Managers of same status with her that were allowed to remain in their positions because they were staff of the company and not members of the dissolved Executive Management.