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Tag: sack

  • NUFBTE begins strike over sack of 65 workers

    The National Union of Food Beverage and Tobacco Employees (NUFBTE) has commenced an indefinite strike at Fan Milk Company in Ibadan over what it described as illegal termination of the appointment of over 65 members of the union.

    The union said its action was in conjunction with the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC) procedure.

    It called on the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to prevail on the mobile police officers in Ibadan, who have been assaulting the workers since the action began.

    Its National President, Comrade Lateef Oyelekan in a statement, said the management had mobilised five trucks of mobile policemen to the company to threaten the workers, who are only exercising their rights and have not embarked on any form of hooliganism.

    He noted that the union’s action  was as a result of a redundancy action carried out by the company  without discussing with the union.

    “The action of the management is unilateral, as the union was not privy to it and as such, it negates the contractual agreement we have with the company, hence it is null and void”, Oyelekan said.

    He explained that the company only wrote the union last Thursday on the issue, which the union replied that it would be available for discussion on September 22 after its National Executive Meeting (NEC).

    He said: “But we were baffled that the management could start distributing letters the following day, which means it was intentional and that is against industrial relations practice and Nigeria Labour Law.”

    The company’s action, according to him, could not have been unconnected with the union’s refusal of the Fan Milk’s management plan to cancel workers’ existing gratuities and move the accrued fund to a Swiss Bank.

    He said payment of gratuity in the sector is non negotiable as it is established at the National Joint Industrial Council (NJIC), a negotiation body for both the employers and employees. He stressed that no employer in the sector can contradict or go against it.

    Meanwhile, the company’s Corporate Affairs Manager, Seyi Adetayo said the company has met with the union over six times since January this year on the issue of redundancy, and the union at each meeting never saw reason with the management on the need to carry out the exercise.

  • Amokachi, Shorunmu, Keshi scared of sack

    Amokachi, Shorunmu, Keshi scared of sack

    Super Eagles goalkeeper trainer and former Nigeria international, Ike Shorunmu have said that the recent Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) crisis affected the national team in their games against Congo Brazzaville and South Africa in the ongoing African Cup of Nations (AFCON)’ qualification series.

    “My prayer is that this crisis should end fast because the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has a big role to play in any national team,” Shorunmu said in an exclusive chat with SportingLife yesterday.

    “At the time we played the first match which we lost in Calabar against Congo, no coach in the team was sure of his job. But we summoned courage to do the work when the Chief Coach (Stephen Keshi) called and told us that  we needed to prosecute the matches against Congo and the second one away to South Africa which ended in a scoreless draw.

    “Despite the fact that we were afraid of losing our jobs since we didn’t know our fate as regards our employment, we still handled the team for the two games in the interest of the country.

    “Since we don’t have any other country but Nigeria, we chose to prosecute the matches despite the fears in us that we could lose our jobs in the aftermath of the football crisis.”

    The goalkeeper coach is however confident that the Eagles would still book a ticket to the 2015 African Cup of Nations, although he admitted that the team needs to beat its next foe Sudan home and away to brighten Nigeria’s chances of qualification for the 2015 AFCON in Morocco.

    “Firstly, I want to confess to you that we the coaches were very disappointed with the performance of the team in the two games and the Chief Coach did not hide this fact from the players.

    “From the way things are now, the team (Super Eagles) must win the remaining four matches in the group to be sure of qualification. “It is a matter of fact that African teams always up their game when they play against the Super Eagles which always make such matches very difficult, but there is no hiding place for us as a team because the players are aware of the fact that they must win the remaining four games for Nigeria to be in Morocco in January, 2015”.

    “But we will see how things turn-out after playing the next two games against Congo (Brazzaville) and I am confident that the players will rise to the billing”, Shorunmu concluded.

  • VVV Venlo sack Uche Nwofor

    VVV Venlo sack Uche Nwofor

    Dutch club VVV Venlo  have announced that they  have mutually terminated the agreement binding them with Nigeria international Uche Nwofor.

    The 22 – year – old officially departed the Limburg based side on September 1, meaning he can sign for a new club despite the end of the transfer market.

    During Uche Nwofor’s three – year stay at the Pride of the South, he clocked up 14 goals in 62 appearances in the league alone.

    He spent last season on loan at top division Heerenveen, but the club failed to exercise the option to buy him in June.

    His contract with VVV Venlo would have expired at the end of this season, assuming he did not decide to seek pastures new.

  • ‘Doctors’ sack is a joke’

    ‘Doctors’ sack is a joke’

    A non-governmental, humanitarian organisation, the Peoples Problems and Solution (PPS), has said President Goodluck Jonathan’s sack of over 16,000 doctors was a big joke.

    In a statement yesterday in Lagos, its National President Dr Wale Omole said: “This is a wrong time to crack such a joke in the history of the world. To the rest of the world, it is ridiculous.

    “At this time when the world’s survival is threatened by the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD), all nations depend on their doctors. They value and treasure them. The reverse is the case in Nigeria. The Ebola virus, which is taking the government’s attention, has not killed up to 20 people in Nigeria. But hundreds of common people die everyday because government hospitals are closed down.

    “How many people can afford bills at private hospitals? Nigerians are dying in hundreds everyday. More people die from doctors’ sack than Boko Haram and Ebola pandemic. Who are the government’s advisers on health?

    “Now that the 16,000 doctors are sacked, we hope the advisers will ask the government who to take over the running of the hospitals nationwide.”

    The group noted that “there is no sense in that sack,” adding that the Federal Government should compensate the families of those who died as a result of the sack.

    It said: “Since all doctors working in the government’s facilities are sacked, we wonder what the Health Minister is still doing in office because he is a doctor in a government facility, who also stands sacked.”

    The group urged the government to resolve its differences with the doctors to enable them return to duty.

  • APC slams lawmakers’ insistence on Al-Makura’s sack

    APC slams lawmakers’ insistence on Al-Makura’s sack

    Huge cash is being deployed in an illegal battle to remove Nasarawa Governor Tanko Al-Makura, the All Progressives Party (APC) alleged yesterday.

    The APC did not state who was offering the cash, but it condemned the “role” of the Presidency in the matter.

    The Chief Judge has set up a seven-man panel which probed the House’s allegations against the governor, who came out clean.

    But there is a renewed plan by the House to impeach Al-Makura, This is against the Constitution, the party said.

    In a statement  in Ilorin by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said it would amount to an illegality for the lawmakers to draft a pliant Vacation Judge, as it has been reported, to set up another panel to probe the 16 allegations over which the governor had been absolved of any wrongdoing.

    It said the Constitution is clear that only the Chief Judge can set up such a panel, upon receiving a request from the Speaker of the House of Assembly, hence any attempt to draft a Vacation Judge to set up another panel will mean working against the spirit and letter of the same Constitution that gave the legislature the impeachment power in the first instance.

    APC also said Al-Makura could not be impeached on the basis of the allegations, noting that if indeed the lawmakers want to follow the Constitution, they will have to find a new set of offences against the Governor, notify him and then send their request to the Chief Judge, not to a Vacation Judge.

    ‘’That this latest move by the legislators, who are now marooned in Abuja instead of their base in Lafia, is being instigated by the PDP is not in doubt, irrespective of the unconvincing and tepid denial from the party. That this illegality is being contemplated under the watch of President Goodluck Jonathan is clear for all to see. In fact, it is in line with the culture of lawlessness and impunity for which the Jonathan Administration has now become infamous.

    ‘’This is the only reason why the Minister of Information, Mr. Labaran Maku, from Nasarawa State, could be goading the legislature to disregard the Constitution in its avowed determination to remove the governor, for no reason other than he belongs to the opposition. The minister is well aware that he is functioning in an atmosphere that encourages impunity, and that the President will not sanction him for encouraging illegality.

    ‘’It is also as clear as daylight that the kind of money being dangled at the lawmakers to impeach Al-Makura at all costs could only have come from a deep purse or a war chest. With almost 30 million Naira and other perks being reportedly offered to each lawmaker just to take out an opposition governor, it is clear in whose interest and at whose behest such is being done,’’ the party said.

    It said that from Police officer Joseph Mbu, who trampled the Constitution and virtually seized the reins of government during his tenure as the Commissioner of Police in Rivers, to Marilyn Ogar, a supposed spokesperson of the DSS who has now become a spokesperson for the PDP, impunity is the name of the game under the Jonathan Administration.

    ‘’The puppeteers of the marooned Nasarawa legislators had better call them to order before they precipitate a Constitutional crisis in the state and do a grievous harm to our democracy. The lawmakers have tried and failed to remove Al-Makura. Let them now return to Lafia and continue with their constitutional duties. They must give peace a chance,’’ APC said.

  • Reverse sack of 16,000 doctors, NMA tells Jonathan

    THE Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) yesterday called on President Goodluck Jonathan to unconditionally reinstate the 16,000 resident doctors he sacked last Thursday.

    It said only after their reinstatement will it return to the negotiation table with the federal government on the strike, which began on July 1.

    The Chairman, Lagos State Branch of NMA, Dr Tope Ojo, stated this in a briefing at the weekend.

    He urged Jonathan to do the right thing by reversing the sack and lifting the ban on residency training while engaging the NMA in discussion.

    He said because of the sack all medical schools have been shut down, saying the resident doctors contribute about 50 per cent to the training of the students.

    This, he said, also caused the cancellation of major/specialist surgical operations in the teaching hospitals.

    According to him: “The consultants by default perform all major surgical operations with the assistance of their resident doctors.”

    Resident doctors, he said, are part of the NMA, which declared the strike and as such should not be singled out for punishment.

    He said: “All attempts by the government to divide the NMA by sacking its 16,000 resident doctors are well understood and will be resisted by the NMA.

    “Doctors will resist victimisation or harassment by the government or its agents because an injury to one is an injury to all.”

    He said the sack of doctors may trigger more cases of Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) because most volunteers involved in case management and other levels of Ebola Emergency Response Committee are resident doctors.

    The chairman said resident doctors are sensitive and will continue to participate in the Ebola response at all levels despite their purported sacks.

    He lamented lack of adequate equipment to manage the disease, adding that government has been silent on the security of volunteer doctors managing the cases.

    He said one of the demands of NMA is for the government to establish a National Residency Training Board and review the current policy on residency training in Nigeria to meet international standards.

    Ojo said for over six years, there has been consistent pressure from some Allied Health Workers Union (AHWU) for government to stop the training of specialists in Nigeria.

    He urged the Lagos State government to embrace true democracy by stopping the employment of casual/ locum doctors.

    Doctors, he said, were given casual employment when the state Medical Guild embarked on an indefinite strike on May 7, 2012.

  • Crown sack Akpokona

    Crown sack Akpokona

    Nigeria Premier League side Crown FC have sacked coach Lawrence Akpokona, who earns N750,000 a month, after a run of poor results.

    According to an official statement made available to AfricanFootball.com, team manager Sunday Olaosebikan  signed a letter on behalf of the general manager notifying Apokona of his indefinite suspension .

    “I’m directed to convey decisions of board and management to you to proceed on an indefinite suspension with immediate effect…upon receipt of this letter…vacate your official residence…the decision becomes imperative due to unimpressive performance of the club under your watch,” the letter read in part.

    On Wednesday, Crown lost 1-0 at home to visiting Lobi Stars.

    Akpokona was hired soon after Crown won promotion back to the top flight, but the club are now fighting against relegation after 21 games.

  • Joel Obi escapes Inter sack

    Joel Obi escapes Inter sack

    Super Eagles midfielder, Joel Obi’s name has been left out of the list of players facing departure from Italian side, Inter Milan this transfer window.

    Reports in the Italian media on Wednesday  indicated some of the names that the club have highlighted as up for sale.

    The Nerazzurri are in a transitional process under new owner Erick Thohir, with the likes of Nemanja Vidic and Yann M’Vila coming in to push the San Siro outfit up the table.

    However, Tuttosport have revealed a number of the players the Indonesian businessman and Coach Walter Mazzarri deem as surplus to requirements.

    Ricky Alvarez is probably the most high-profile of those, with the paper claiming that a fee of 12m euros could see him leave.

    Fredy Guarin is also another on the list, with the club seemingly upset with his protracted, but ultimately fruitless, attempt to move to Juventus in January.

    Saphir Taider could be used in a part-exchange deal for Southampton’s Dani Osvaldo, whilst Hugo Campagnaro, Ezequiel Schelotto and Matias Silvestre could all also go.

    Obi spent almost all of last season out on loan at Parma, and before that, was out injured, meaning he’s had little playing time at the club.

    Inter are hoping to raise at least 30m euros from the sales.

  • Kalu: Don’t sack Keshi

    Kalu: Don’t sack Keshi

    • Recommends Emenalo, Okpala as assistants

    As Nigerians wait to see what the future holds for Stephen Keshi, former Abia State governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, yesterday threw his weight behind the coach, asking for a new four -year contract to keep the Big Boss as Super Eagles’ Manager.

    Kalu’s backing comes amid uncertainity over the Eagles’ preparations for the 2015 Nations Cup and is a bold step towards sustaining pressure on the need for continuity.

    He said: “There should be no vacuum. I want the football federation to keep Keshi. He must learn from his mistakes. This is not the time to hire a new coach, rather, Mike Emenalo and Sylvanus Okpala should be engaged to work with him”.

    The ex-governor advised that Keshi’s designation should be changed to accommodate his former team mates so that all tactical deficiencies could be plugged.

    “Keshi could become Technical Adviser. Emenalo takes the position of Chief Coach while Okpala assumes the responsibility of Assistant Coach. That combination would be unbeatable. Emenalo knows so much about modern club football and is tactically sound. Okpala sees a lot from the bench too,” Kalu added.

    Kalu also prayed the NFF to send Keshi to Germany on a three-month refresher course in the bid to take Nigerian soccer to the next level.

    “That is what he needs. The Germans have a lot to offer in terms of modern soccer technology. You saw what their squad did to Brazil.That should be the next destination point,” Kalu offered.

    He also advised Keshi on the way forward. “There should be two standing national teams. One must comprise players from the local league. It does not help a coach when he has to rely entirely on Europe-based footballers to prosecute games. It showed in Brazil. Home-based defenders could have done a better job at the World Cup.”

    Out -of favour striker Ike Uche was not left out.” That was one costly mistake Keshi made. Eagles must be full of players who can score goals. I am sure we have not seen the best of that young man. And Keshi must change his mind. We have not seen the last of Uche. We should start preparing for Russia 2018 now. Time waits for no one,” Kalu summed up.

  • Ogu faces sack in Portugal

    Ogu faces sack in Portugal

    The future of Super Eagles midfielder John Ogu is in doubt at his Portuguese club Academica Coimbra with reports suggesting that he has been released by the club.

    Ogu was sparingly used by former Coach Sergio Conceicao last season after a fall out which Ogu claimed is due to his commitment with the Nigeria national team.

    He appeared only seven times from the bench all through last season costing him a place in the Nigeria World Cup team.

    Conceicao moved to Braga at the end of the season but it appears the 24-year-old doesn’t have a future under new Coach Paulo Sergio who is lining up Ogu’s national teammate Obiorah Nwankwo as his replacement in central midfield.