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The Police Service Commission has terminated the appointment of 95 workers who were re-instated by the National Industrial Court in October last year.
The letters of terminations which were issued to the workers on Friday in Abuja, did not give any reason for the sacking but merely said it was in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Rules 020801.
A letter with reference number, PSC/L/PET/239/Vol. II, dated March 30, 2017 issued to one of the affected officers was signed by the Director, Administration, on behalf of the Permanent Secretary of the commission.
The letter read, “This is to inform you that your services are no longer required by the commission. Your appointment as Administrative Office II on GL 08 with the commission is therefore terminated with effect from March 31, 2017.
“The termination of your appointment is in accordance with the provisions of the Public Service Rules 020801.
“All your monetary entitlements from the period of your engagement up to April 30, 2017 have been duly computed and forwarded to the Budget Office of the Federation for payment.”
It was gathered that the section under which the workers were sacked concerned personnel on probation, which did not apply to the 95 disengaged staff who were recruited into the PSC in April, 2013 by the former board led by Parry Osayande.
The PSR 020801 read, “If within his probationary period, it is established to the satisfaction of the authority empowered to appoint an officer that he is not qualified for efficient service, his appointment may be terminated by that authority at any time without any further compensation than free transport to the place from which he was engaged and such free transport will be granted only if his conduct has been good.”
But the PSC spokesman, Ikechukwu Ani argued that the agency did not violate the court order by its action, noting that the management and the workers “resolved the issue amicably during their meeting last week.”
The lawyer to the workers, Samuel Ogala described Ani’s statement as ‘disinformation,’ stating that the commission merely informed his clients during the meeting that it cannot obey the court order because it was not enforceable.
“The management told us that they would terminate the appointment of my clients because according to them, their appointment was faulty ab initio and that the court order was not enforceable, but we are not accepting this from them; we are looking at various legal options to challenge the decision,” he said.
The workers had instituted a suit against the commission and its chairman, Mike Okiro at the NIC following the refusal of the PSC to pay their salaries on the grounds that their appointment allegedly did not conform to the civil service rules and regulations.
Judgment was given in their favour following the failure of the PSC to file a memorandum of appearance within the stipulated time.
Justice E.D. Isele, in his ruling, dated October 18, 2016, described as illegal the refusal of the commission to pay the workers their salaries and allowances.
The judge said it was a violation of the provision of Section 10 (3) (b) of the Police Service Commission Act, 2001, Rules 040102 and 130105 of the Public Service Rules and the Police Service Conditions of Service paragraphs 4.1(c) and 4-2(e).
The court restrained the commission from further refusing to pay the claimants their salaries and allowances, harassing, suspending their employment without due compliance with the extant provision of the law regulating the claimants’ employment.
The judgment read, “The 1st and 2nd defendants (PSC and Okiro), are hereby mandatorily directed to pay the claimants forthwith their first 28 days allowances, salaries, allowances of equivalent rank in the Civil Service of Federation commencing from the date of their employment to when the claimants’ employment is properly determined in accordance with the provisions of the law regulating the claimants employment with the defendants.”
