The deployment of contract employees by the Director-General, Securities and Exchange Commission, Ms Arunma Oteh, on Tuesday sparked outrage in the commission as workers trooped out in large numbers to protest the decision.

The workers, who expressed anger at the development, gave the DG a two-week ultimatum to remove the contract employees from the commission or face industrial action.

The protest began at about 8am and lasted for about two hours.

The SEC workers, operating under the Amalgamated Union of Public Corporations, Civil Service and Recreation Employees, came out from their offices displaying placards with various inscriptions.

Some of the placards read; “No redeployment of Managing Director of Training School against Board’s decision,” and, “No to undue delay of application files for months; No sole administration.”

But reacting to the development, Oteh said the workers’ allegations were deliberate attempts to frustrate the reorganisation at the commission, adding that the workers were being sponsored by external forces who wanted the DG out of SEC.

Oteh’s spokesman, Mr. Obi Adindu, said in a telephone interview with our correspondent that there was no law prohibiting a contract staff from heading a department in any government agency.

He said the only contract worker appointed to lead a department was the Head of the Internal Control Unit.

Adindu said most of the workers that participated in the protest were members of staff of the commission who failed the maiden promotion examination conducted for SEC workers.

He said, “The people who staged the protest don’t want to write the promotion exam and it is only in the SEC that promotion exam was not done until recently, and that is the beginning of this mediocrity.

“There is no law in the public service that prohibits a contract workers from heading a department. Their action is a deliberate plan to sustain the corruption in the system and we won’t allow that to happen.”

There was heavy presence of security operatives from the Federal Capital Territory Police Command at the SEC headquarters.

Addressing journalists, the Chairman of the union, Mr. Muhammed Salihu, said contract workers had been deployed by the DG to head the Internal Audit Department and SEC Training School, among others.

He said, “We have 21 contract staff; all of them placed in certain positions that are unbearable and against public service policy.

“It is unheard of that you make such a person a senior manager. You have somebody who graduated in 1994 and you make him a deputy director, we have 24 of them.”

Salihu said the union had written to Oteh to have a meeting with her, adding that the DG issued a query instead of calling for a meeting.

 He added that the union would give the management two weeks to work things out to ensure peace and harmony in the commission.

Source: Punch/Ifeanyi Onuba