Crisis at NCC worsens as ex-minister’s son resigns in protest

The crisis at the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, has taken a different turn as the son of former minister has resigned from the commission.

Our investigation revealed that the son of a former minster from Nasarawa State and a fierce activist, suddenly left the commission over the ongoing promotion controversy that has continued to dent the image of the commission.

Recall that a recent controversial promotion exercise has set some senior staff of the commission against the management over what they had tagged lopsided. Many of the commission’s staff have accused the management of biased promotion without objective consideration on performance, qualifications and other necessary prerequisites for such a promotion. Some have even accused the commission of exhibiting tribal sentiment by favoring a particular tribe and leaving some out of the equation.

Investigation further revealed that amid the protest, a son of former minister who for some confidential reasons would not be mentioned in this report abruptly resigned. Our source revealed that the young man whose father was a former information minister and one-time deputy governor of Nasarawa State was quite disturbed by the ongoing in the commission and handed in his resignation letter.

It was gathered that during his post-resignation interview, he had blasted the current state of affairs at the NCC, stating no principled individual would want to continue in such a toxic atmosphere that frustrates creativity.

The source said, “The job the young man dumped cannot be done by even three persons. This goes to tell you how productivity is murdered on the alter of sentiment and discrimination.”

The source went further to reveal that the staff’s father was a student activist, civil society activist and journalist in his active years during the military era and that his resignation did not come as a surprise because “an apple does not fall too far from its tree.

“There are staff of the organization who did not even take part in the promotion exams but have resigned in protest. There are also others planning to dump the commission because, according to them, the future of the commission looks bleak under the current leadership.

“How do you investigate staff because they protested their promotion? Is the civil service supposed to be a place for witch hunt and victimization? Where then is the job security,” he said.

Speaking further, our source said many of the staff denied promotion are being investigated over an alleged leak of classified document to the media. He revealed further that while the investigation is currently ongoing and the panel is yet to make public its final position on the contentious matter, management has already stopped the affected staff from carrying out their duties.

“This puts to question whether people called manager of resources or not. Because even in the court of law, there should be presumption of innocence until a case is determined,” he said.

He went further to reveal that most of the staff at loggerheads with NCC management were stopped from attending a conference they were billed to attend. Some of them have been forced to cough out the Esta codes paid to them for the trip.

Some of the affected staff, according to the source were equally stopped from attending a GOCOP event which held recently in Abuja. “ Imagine that these guys are not on suspension, but already their tasks and duties have already been withdrawn. So sad.

“This again puts to question on whether management will honour any recommendation from the panel they set up to probe some of the staff. Is it proper to discipline some of the staff when no offense has been established against them?

“What is happening at the NCC is akin to an overzealous policeman who arrested a suspect and continues to look for evidence to prosecute him. This is why most of staff’s offices have now been bugged by the commission. The aim is to track conversations and other discussions so as to further victimize them.

The concerned staff lamented that the amount of money being currently wasted on staff surveillance could do a lot in moving the commission forward, questioning why a government agency should prioritize staff monitoring as against doing its job that will move commission forward.

“This is looking like NCC does not exactly have anything tangible to hold onto as far as the current issue is concerned and now looking for new evidence to nail the affected workers,” the source said, asking whether in a democracy, employees’ rights can be this violated including the right to privacy?”

He alleged that directors and heads of departments could not offer objective advice, hence management in the areas within their purviews have allowed this to continue under the EVC.

Earlier, Nnena Ukoha, Acting Head of Public Affairs had dismissed any wrongdoing by the commission, stating that the promotion exams were conducted for all cadres of staff eligible for a promotion in the agency.

According to her, the exercise was propelled by “our commitment to integrity, fairness, and the needs of the industry for competent professionals to drive national objectives”.

“In line with the Public Service Rules, the Commission’s organizational structure and manpower plan, each cadre had a defined number of vacancies, representing the number of personnel the Commission could accommodate at each level,” Kalu said in a statement.

“Staff who did not meet the required cut-off, or who passed but for whom vacancies were no longer available at their cadre, could not be promoted.

“Furthermore, the interview panels for staff were composed of credible management staff (drawn from each of the six (6) Geo-Political Zones), in addition to independent external members and representatives from the Federal Character Commission (FCC), who were present to provide oversight and ensure compliance with applicable regulations.”